Riding On My Emotional Rollercoaster
by Miss-Beann
Summary: Bella and Edward are both divorced and are set up by Edward's brother, Emmett and his girlfriend Rosalie. Bella has a 16 year old daughter who also has her own issues which are dragged into E&Bs relationship. Canon couples and eventual lemons.
1. Chapter 1 Brown eyes

AN. OK soooo… first fan-fiction so go easy on me. It'll only get better (I hope!) tell me what you think my lovelies. Remember that I don't mind any CONSTRUCTIVE criticism. =]

I DO NOT OWN TWILIGHT. No malicious intent and all that lovely stuff.

On with the story…

**Bella's P.O.V.**

I hate Mondays.

I hate mornings

The only thing I hate more than that are Monday-fucking-mornings. Even at the age of 35, that inner teenager came creeping back when my alarm went at the beginning of each week.

Something I'm sure I managed to pass onto my daughter, Abby.

Unfortunately for both of us, it was Monday morning, and we did have to get up. She needed to go to school and I had to go to work at my job as a book editor.

I sighed heavily, rolled out of bed and strolled downstairs to see my beautiful brown haired, brown-eyed daughter lazily eating a slice of toast.

"Morning Abs!" I greeted her.

In response, she turned her head vaguely in my direction and waved her toast yielding hand at me.

It was moments like this that reminded me she was still a teenager. She was 16 years old, had inherited my hair, my eyes and unfortunately my extreme lack of ability to walk on a flat surface without falling face first to the floor. She was extremely mature for her age and it's not hard to find something about her that makes me proud.

As ashamed of it as I am, it doesn't change the fact that I have no idea who her father is. It was a one-night stand at one of the many parties my friend Alice decided to throw after we graduated high school.

All I remember about him is he was at least 6"5 and Abby definitely inherited her height from him. Her 5"8 frame stood a good height above my 5"4 one.

I was only 19 when she was born, much to my parents disappointment – it put me well behind on my education – but I will never regret having her.

My ex-husband, Jacob treated her as his own, even more so after he found out he was unable to have children of his own. Abby does actually think he's her real father, and since I don't know who he actually is, I figured I'd let it continue to be that way.

I still missed being married to Jacob. We divorced three years ago, we wanted different things and we married too young. We still keep in touch though and he's one of my closest friends. He sees or talks to Abby at least once a week as well so there was no damage done.

I sighed and walked over to the coffee machine to pour myself a cup of the warm liquid that always made my mornings just that little bit better.

At that moment, Abby shuffled out the kitchen and up the stairs to her bedroom.

After basically downing my coffee, I grabbed the spare piece of toast off Abby's plate (yeah, I know, scab, but come on it's Monday morning!) and went upstairs to get ready for work.

I walked into my room just in time to see my phone screen flash alerting me I had a text message.

_From: Emmett_

_Bellerina! I'll be swinging on down by your office later! Prepare for the bear! Xxx_

I had to laugh. Emmett was my 'brother from another mother', as he liked to call it. I tried to explain that he couldn't really use that one on me, but he simply laughed his booming laugh and told me that since I was 'the closest thing to his baby sister' you could get so I should shut it.

Alice introduced us two years ago in an attempt to get me dating again after Jake. I have to admit, Emmett was fucking gorgeous; well built was an understatement, with the cutest dimpled grin and curly brown hair I've ever seen.

We got on amazingly well and we went on a couple of dates but every time we kissed it was too weird, like he was my brother, so we called it quits and stayed friends.

I replied to his text just saying that I'd see him later and got dressed.

"Bye Mum!" I heard from downstairs as the front door slammed shut.

I rolled my eyes and smirked. No doubt she was getting a lift from her new boyfriend. Chris or something. She hadn't actually told me anything about him, but I managed to hear – unintentionally of course – that she couldn't imagine her 'first time' going so amazingly well.

I didn't particularly want to hear about that, but figured it'd be a good idea to let her know that I was fine with it, it's not like I could do anything about it. I don't think she was too pleased when I gave her a box of condoms to make sure she was being safe. She just snatched the box out of my hands and ran up to her room, her face flushed bright red.

I rushed downstairs taking my thoughts away from my daughter's sex life– I hardly even had one these days – and climbed into my old rusted Chevy truck. I'd had it for longer than I can remember now, people used to take the piss out of it, but I like it and I'll be damned if I get rid of it before needs be.

After arriving at the office, I walked past my boss and Emmett's girlfriend Rosalie.

"Morning Bella! Good weekend?" ugh! She was always so cheerful in the mornings.

"Hey Rose. Oh you know, sat around watching trashy films and fattening myself up with cookie dough ice cream, all the good stuff. You?"

She smiled at me; "Oh I'm jealous!" she smiled sarcastically, "Well some of us actually got some this weekend. You know, you could do with a bit of a release, you're always so stressed out."

For fucks sake, every time I walk into the office, there's some crude remark about my lack of sex life. I swear she's the reason it's on my mind almost constantly. I seriously don't need this right now. "You know, for all you know, I could be getting screwed every minute of the day I'm not here and I'm just not telling you." I joked. Obviously that was no where near the truth but I didn't want Rose's pity right then.

"You know Bells, I could seriously help you out if you wanted…" she trailed off.

I definitely did not want her help. The last time that happened, I ended up sat in a restaurant opposite some guy who couldn't take his eyes off my breasts, and asked me if I wanted to go home for 'some sugar and that other good sweet tasting stuff'. Complete nut case. "I'm good thanks, Rose. Anyway work calls," I said running off.

Up until lunch, I spent my time looking through some of the newer books that had been sent through.

At around noon, I got a call from Emmett, telling me to grab Rose and meet him downstairs. He had a surprise for me apparently.

_Fuck._ Rose definitely had something to do with this. _I'll fucking kill them both if Em's bought another one of those guys who are completely perverted and just look like they stumbled out of the pub_.

Did they really think these are the types of men I could take home to Abby?

I really didn't think so.

I huffed out an exasperated sigh and headed out to find Rose ready and waiting by the entrance. I gave her a look that meant '_we'll talk about this later_' and walked out the building beside her.

The first thing I saw was the huge figure of Emmett bounding up, giving Rosalie a peck on the cheek before turning to me and engulfing me in a massive bone crushing hug.

I was red in the face before Emmett realised I probably couldn't breath and set me down.

"OK Bells, I know you're a complete brain-box and have probably already figured out what's going on but before you throw a complete shit fit, can you just trust me this once?" and shot me his adorable dimpled grin.

I scowled "Emmett! You know I can't resist that smile of yours, you big oaf! Ugh fine whatever, but if this is like the last I-don't-know-how-many times, you're gonna be sorry"

He just laughed at me, "yeah, yeah, wrath of the grizzlies right? Don't worry, you'll love this guy, Bells. He's actually my baby brother. He's your age, divorced just like you. He's a great guy and all the girls seem to like him…"

"Great. So he's a womaniser. That why his marriage broke up?" I knew I was being unfair but let's face it, when it came to Emmett; you had to check on anything that you could to uncover the dirty little secrets.

"Bells," he warned, "that had nothing to do with it. I won't go into that with you, that's his deal, but I promise it's not like that. I mean I've been told he's easy on the eyes. I mean not quite as much as me or anything but I mean look at me! You can't improve on perfection" and he winked.

Idiot.

I rolled my eyes, straightened myself up and peered behind Emmett as he pointed out his brother to me.

He had his back turned to us but from what I could see he was pretty tall, not as tall as Emmett was, but probably around 6 foot. Under his shirt there was a hint at some well-defined muscles but nothing over the top. His hair was bronze coloured and was messy in a really sexy way.

I raised my eyebrows at Emmett and Rosalie and smiled. "So what's his name so I don't seem like a complete idiot?"

"Edward" Rosalie grinned at me. I don't know why, but I found something incredibly sexy about that name.

The three of us headed towards Edward and Emmett placed a large hand on his shoulder and whispered something unintelligible into his ear.

He turned around and looked directly into my eyes.

Oh. My. Fucking. God. He had the most amazing eyes I've ever seen.

They were emerald green, and they were piercing straight into mine. They were the type of eyes that you could get lost in for hours. They were deeper than an ocean and I felt as though I was swimming within his sparkling green pools when he spoke, "you must be Bella" he smiled a dazzling crooked smile at me that could make my heart melt. "It's nice to meet you, I'm Edward" he said extending his hand.

I returned the smile and extended my hand to meet his, as I gripped it, I felt a spark shoot through my hand, putting me into shock before I recovered myself and greeted him. "Hi Edward, nice to meet you too."

We stood like that for a little longer than we should have before Emmett loudly cleared his throat, nudged me with his elbow suggestively and motioned for us to follow him and Rosalie.

As they walked, Edward turned to me and whispered soft enough for the other two not to hear "Sorry about this. Emmett threatened to destroy my car if I didn't come and meet you. It's kinda my most prized possession, you understand" he chuckled softly.

I nodded and smiled along with him as we continued to wherever it was they were taking us to.

Perhaps they finally struck gold after all.


	2. Chapter 2 Boy with the bronze hair

**I just realised I didn't make it clear that because of Jacob, Bella & Abby's last name is Black. I expect you probably figured that out but it's a just in case =]**

**Oh, and I don't own Twilight.**

Chapter 2 – The boy with the bronze hair

I was awoken to the sound of my phone buzzing maniacally on my bedside table.

I glanced at the clock, which told me that it was only 8:30am.

I rolled over in bed and decided to ignore who ever it was that was bugging me right then. I was exhausted and I wasn't in the mood for anyone else's shit. I could call them back later.

In the last 48 hours, I had managed to obtain a grand total of around 6 hours sleep.

If I'm honest, sleep had been pretty low down on my priority list. I'd been working almost every evening at the hospital for the past few weeks - as well as during the daytime – and it didn't help that I was the only doctor available to cover any shifts due to my lack of social life.

I loved my job, don't get me wrong. I mean, it made me feel amazing to know that people are alive because I treated them. I loved it when people smiled at me and were grateful for what I've done for them. I loved the way patients had to listen to my advice because they knew I was right. To be honest, I just loved being called 'Dr Cullen'; it made me feel important. It also meant I had a lot of contact with my father, Carlisle, because he worked in the neurology department at the hospital. He helped me through a lot when I first started working there and he is probably the reason I was able to keep my job during the early years of my career. At this stage in my career however, I hadn't lost a patient for a long time, and that gave me a buzz.

As far as I was concerned, I was now a fucking amazing cardiologist. I knew exactly what I was doing and I was confident. No one had ever told me otherwise and I had no reason to feel otherwise either.

Maybe I was arrogant about it and it made me seem like an ass, but at least I was proud of myself.

But there was still the issue of the lack of sleep, which really didn't help with my mood. I generally gave people the idea I was a complete dick, although I don't think that was really the case. Maybe if I got more sleep, a lot more people would actually have liked me.

I'm really not a bad person.

I was snapped out of my daydreams by the sound of my phone buzzing once again.

Grunting, I answered with very little enthusiasm.

"This better be good." I snapped without looking to see who was on the other end of the phone.

"Morning little brother!" my oldest brother, Emmett almost shouted down the phone.

This was weird; Emmett was definitely **not** a morning person.

I sighed, "What do you want Em?"

"Well, Edwardo," _deep breath. He did NOT just call you 'Edwardo'_; "I was talking to Jazz yesterday…" he trailed off. This was just fan-fucking-tastic. My older brothers had clearly talking about **me.** Why can't they just leave me the hell alone?

"What exactly were you talking about Emmett?" I growled impatiently.

"Calm down Eddie." _Oh, not fucking Eddie! _I could image the shit-eating grin that was probably plastered on his face. 'Eddie' was even worse than 'Edwardo' as far as I was concerned and my brother knew it pissed me off when he called me either.

I pinched the bridge of my nose and closed my eyes in an attempt to calm myself down. The exhaustion definitely had something to do with my mood swings.

Eventually he continued, "We were just saying that – now don't get all pissy with us or anything – that it's about time you took yourself off the market again, if you get me?"

I knew exactly what he meant. This wasn't the first time he'd mentioned me going out on a date, but he couldn't comprehend that I still wasn't ready for that.

"I don't think so Em, I'm not quite there yet, OK?"

"But Edward" he whined, "there's this girl, right, and she's perfect for you!"

OK now, I was pissed, "so you're telling me that you went out of your way to find a girl for me? When I'm ready I think I'll be able to manage just fine on my own!"

"Will you hear me out?" he pleaded. When I didn't complain he continued, "OK, so her name's Bella, she works for Rose at the book editor's and she's amazing, I swear. Give her a chance and I promise you'll like her, please? Jasper's all for this too, and Rose. She's even best friends with Alice or something as well, so she's a winner all round."

I sighed, ready to reply to his little rant, but I wasn't given the chance because Emmett stopped me short.

"Tell you what, you will come meet me outside Rose's office just before noon, or I'll come down there and key your precious car. I swear she's nothing like Tanya. It's time you learnt that not all women are like that. In fact, very few women are."

I sighed, I didn't want to do this but there was no way Emmett was getting anywhere near my Volvo. "Fine, Em, whatever. I'll see you later." I replied grudgingly.

After hanging up, I lay down on my bed resting my head on the pillow as I covered my face with my hands.

I didn't need to be told that this Bella woman wasn't like Tanya – I'm sure she wasn't – but I didn't need to hear Tanya's name, it just reminded me of everything that happened during the later stages of our marriage.

What she did to me was unforgivable and I couldn't believe it at first that anyone could ever do anything like that. Not only did she break my heart, but my entire family's as well, especially my Mother, Esme's.

Basically, Tanya was a first-class bitch.

I had never been more eager to sign a bit of paper in my entire life, who would have thought it was conceivable to want a divorce so badly?

Since then however, I had never been able to trust any woman completely who I had the slightest possibility of having a romantic interest in.

My love life was agonisingly slow.

I must have fallen asleep engrossed in my thoughts because the next thing I knew it was 11:30 and I seriously needed to get my ass in gear if I was going to make it to Rose's office in time.

Her office was located in Port Angeles, for anyone else it would take around 30 minutes to drive from my home just outside of Forks to the town. Luckily with my driving – I admit, I liked speed – I could probably make it in around 20 minutes.

So, with little time to do anything else, I cleaned myself up – only, not bothering with my hair – and threw on a pair of jeans and a white shirt and headed down the two flights of stairs encased in my house, out the front door to my car.

I arrived at my destination to find Emmett bouncing around excitedly outside the large office building behind him.

I approached him and he placed one of his huge hands on my back and shot me his massive dimpled smile. "I just called up to the girls, they'll be here in a minute" he said.

I simply nodded and turned to face the road, watching as the cars sped by.

Before I met this woman, there was one thing that was making me painfully curious, though I had no idea why. So, turning slightly towards Emmett, I asked, "So I'm guessing you know Bella through Rose then?"

He smiled at me, "Nah, actually, I met Rose through Bella."

I raised an eyebrow at him, encouraging him to explain what the hell he meant.

"I met Bella through Alice." He explained. "Apparently, for some time after Bella got divorced, she was just moping round the house, so Alice set us up. We actually went out a couple times but we realised we're better as friends to be honest. She's like the little sister I never had." He smiled down at me again.

So I managed to find more details about this mysterious Bella character: she was divorced like me and she had dated my brother.

Fucking brilliant. Emmett set me up with an ex-girlfriend? This couldn't be any worse.

Feeling even more nervous than before, I nodded stiffly and turned back to face the road once more.

Not long after that, I sensed Emmett's presence disappear and I assumed he had gone to greet Rose and Bella. I made it my main aim to stay focused on the road. I was shitting myself – women had that affect on me, especially women who had dated my brother – and I was fidgeting like a fool.

After several minutes, Emmett placed his hand on my shoulder and whispered in my ear "Relax, buddy, she's just as nervous as you but there's nothing to worry about"

I turned around and looked down, directly into her eyes. The second I did all my fears and nervousness disappeared.

Her gorgeous, chocolate brown eyes met mine and I was lost in them. They were immensely deep and the phrase 'the eyes are the window to the soul' definitely applied, I could tell that her true emotion would shine through her delicate brown orbs. Her eyes were more than beautiful, they were also interesting. I'd never found eyes all that fascinating before, but there was something different about hers, although I wasn't quite sure what it was.

I managed to snap out of it – whatever it was - and greeted her, "you must be Bella," I smiled at her, "it's nice to meet you, I'm Edward." I extended my hand.

She smiled back at me and met my hand with hers. The second our skin made contact, I felt an electric shock pass through me. I tried my best to ignore the sensation as she said "Hi Edward, nice to meet you too."

I'm guessing I was the only one who got that shock then, she _seemed_ completely unfazed.

I took the opportunity to examine her appearance. Her long, wavy hair matched the colour of her eyes, it was mahogany brown and in the small glimpse of light shining from the sun, there was a slight hint at natural red streaks. She had full, plump lips and a cute – yes I said cute – button nose. Her cheeks were flushed a deep red which made her face almost glow. Her body was slender built and she stood a good head-and-some shorter than me. I had to admit I found her extremely attractive.

We had been standing with our hands clasped and eyes hooked for who knows how long before Emmett cleared his throat and nudged Bella's arm before signalling for the two of us to follow him and Rose.

Several minutes passed of walking and – with no idea of where we were going yet – I turned to Bella and whispered too low for Em or Rose to hear "Sorry about this. Emmett threatened to destroy my car if I didn't come and meet you. It's kinda my most prized possession, you understand." I laughed and she smiled and nodded in agreement.

We ended up stood outside some random diner on the corner of some random road.

I looked up to see a sign that informed me that the diner was called 'Newton's Diner'. _Oh how fucking original, no doubt named after the owner_.

Emmett declared that this was where we were going to lunch and grabbed Rosalie by the hand before dragging her in. she turned round to Bella and rolled her eyes, causing Bella to chuckle lightly. It was one of the sweetest sounds I'd ever heard.

I followed the three of them inside.

I had no idea why but I had a really good feeling about this. Perhaps Bella was exactly what I needed. I couldn't help but smile.

**OK, these first couple of chapters were just there to give some background info and all that, we'll get into the story properly from now on. =] **

**Until next time. =]**


	3. Chapter 3 Overprotective

Chapter 3 – Overprotective

** Bella's POV**

As we entered Mike Newton's diner, I noticed Emmett obviously checking out one of the younger waitresses, leading to Rosalie smacking him on the back of the head.

Seriously, has the man never heard of subtlety?

We sat down at a table located right in the corner of the diner away from all the other customers. Edward sat beside me, with Emmett opposite him and Rosalie opposite me.

Whilst getting comfortable, I noticed Mike walk out and greet the elderly couple seated several tables away from us.

I don't know why he bothered; it's not like this was a first class restaurant. Obviously, it was good that he respected his customers, but it was definitely too much sometimes.

What can you say, Mike aimed to please.

As I shrank down in my seat, hoping he wouldn't notice me, Rosalie leaned forward, placing her elbows on the table and smirked at me. "Oh look, Bella! It's your own personal stalker." She joked as her eyes quickly gazed over to Mike.

I noticed Edward stiffen in his seat next to me at the mention of the word 'stalker' at the same time as Emmett placed his hands on the table bent into fists.

"What the fuck, Bella? Who's the dick who thinks he can get away with that kind of shit? Why didn't you tell me?" the big oaf growled.

I rolled my eyes. "You do realise it was just a joke, Em, right?" really, mike was definitely **not** a stalker, he was just overly friendly and persistent, unable to take no for an answer.

He folded his arms across his chest, "Well, maybe next time you'd make that clearer." he spoke in the same manner as a child who wasn't getting their way.

Rosalie smacked him on the back of the head for the second time. "I'd be a lot more concerned for Bella if there was anything like that going on don't you think? Idiot."

I laughed and Edward instantly relaxed.

Not completely understanding why he was so tense in the first place, I asked "you all right, Edward?"

"Yeah, fine." He replied unconvincingly.

I shrugged, was probably just nothing.

"Hey guys, welcome to Newton's!" I heard Mike's cheery voice from beside me, "oh Bella! Always good to see you here, how are you?" he smiled having noticed me.

Four things happened simultaneously: Rose tried and failed to hold in her laughter, Edward turned in his seat to get a better look at Mike, Emmett raised his eyebrows at him and I blushed as I turned my head to look at him.

"I'm good, Mike thanks, you?"

His smile widened. "Great now," he winked at me, "tell you what, I think I'll be your waiter today."

After taking our orders and talking for a bit, Mike left our table - clearly bored with his unrequited, shameless flirting – giving Emmett the chance to tease me.

"Oh look at Bella and Mike getting all cosy." He grinned massively.

Edward, who had previously been considerably quiet so far, glared at him. "Shut up, Emmett! He clearly doesn't know how to take a hint. Didn't you see him looking at her? He was _eye fucking her_, Em. Do you know what that means? It means he was _fucking_ her with his _eyes_!" he almost shouted.

My eyes were wide at his comment with my jaw slack.

Was he always like this? It was odd, this was the first thing he'd said since coming in.

Em and Rose had expressions similar to mine. Okay, obviously this wasn't common behaviour.

After a few moments, Emmett laughed and said to the whole table "not to worry, must be Eddie's time of the month."

Not wanting to piss Edward off any further, I placed my hand on his shoulder, forcing him to look away from his brother to me.

I looked into his eyes and smiled.

"It's fine, really. You get used to Mike's ways. Please don't worry about it. No harm done."

He closed his eyes briefly and opened them, bringing a calm expression to his face. What the hell?

"Sorry, Bella. It's just even the little things seem to be getting on my nerves at the moment. I haven't slept properly for weeks now, I think it's starting to get to me. I'm not usually like this."

Hmm lack of sleep huh? Would it be over the line to ask why?

Not even getting the chance to come to a conclusion, Edward explained that he had been working a lot at the hospital – oh nice he was a doctor – and all the extra work he was putting in was getting him stressed.

"So what sort of stuff do you deal with at the hospital then, if you get me?" I asked him, embarrassed by my lack of knowledge on hospitals despite the amount of time spent there when I was younger.

"I'm a cardiologist." He answered simply with a smile.

Okay, I knew that one; he was a heart doctor.

I returned his smile. He was clearly proud of what he did, it showed in his smile and eyes, and I definitely couldn't blame him for that.

For the next hour or so, the four of us sat talking, giving me and Edward the opportunity to get to know each other a little.

He was amazing from what I could tell. His reaction to his divorce was a lot better than you would expect. I had no idea why him and his wife split up, but by the looks on everyone else's faces, I assumed it wasn't exactly a mutual decision. He was passionate about his job as well as his friends and family. When I got to talk about my self a bit, he actually seemed to be listening and even asked questions which he actually appeared to be interested in the answers to.

It was definitely the best lunch break I've had for a long time.

The only issue – for me at least – was when Rosalie mentioned Abby in discussion. Though she didn't say who she was – it was only a question about how she was getting on – it caused my mind to wander.

What if Edward and I hit it off but he hated kids? What if they met and Abby hated him? What if _he_ had his own children that _I _didn't know about? Would they get on with Abby if he did? Would he be put off that I had a teenage daughter?

In the end I figured I'd get to that when it came to it.

I still had no idea if Edward was even the slightest bit interested in me.

When Rosalie announced that it was time to get back to work – she couldn't dare have her employees slacking, even if it was down to her – the four of us stood having paid for our meal and left the diner, running out before Mike could say anything more to me.

Somewhere on the way back to the office, Emmett stated that he needed to head over to the gym – he was a personal trainer – and that he'd see us all later before engulfing us in our own personal bear hugs and departing.

On arrival at the office, Rose, telling me to be no longer than five minutes, headed into the office leaving Edward and I alone outside.

"So…" I started, not really knowing how to continue. I wasn't sure what to say. I mean I knew what I wanted, but whether he felt the same was yet to be discovered.

"Yeah," he continued, "look, I was thinking maybe we could get together some time. Maybe come to dinner with me on Friday? I don't feel like I've had enough time with you yet." He smiled shyly at me.

He was adorable, and his question made me blush. It wasn't just me, then. Good.

"Definitely." Was my brilliant answer.

I blushed further, as he laughed lightly. "Okay, well I'll pick you up at 7. I'll get your address off of Em."

With that he waved and stepped into his Volvo, giving me a nice view of his amazing ass.

I waved back with that image in my mind, my cheeks still not losing their colour.

I would have sworn that he had done that on purpose.

Stupid, shiny Volvo owner.

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"So, what did Edward say" Rose asked when I came back inside the office.

I blushed "he asked me to go to dinner with him on Friday."

She smiled, "I take it you're going right?"

I nodded and she squealed. Her and Alice too alike for their own good.

"Oh! I meant to ask you earlier, do you wanna come to ours for dinner tonight with Abby? Jasper and Alice are coming too and Emmett misses Abby. He's been dying to get her on that bloody x box again; he reckons he has a good chance of beating her now." She laughed.

I smiled at her and agreed to be at hers at 7.30 before heading back to work.

I knocked hastily on Em and Rose's front door; it was freezing outside and my stubborn daughter had refused to wear anything other than a fucking skirt, no matter how hard I tried to convince her otherwise.

Rose answered the door and Abby ran inside to find warmth.

I greeted Rose before she claimed that she was needed in the kitchen other wise her fiancée would most likely destroy their house.

I headed towards the living room, assuming Alice and Jasper were already here – I wasn't wrong.

"Bella!" My pixie of a best friend squealed at me before flinging herself into my arms at full speed.

Even though she was so petite and weighed basically nothing, I was still knocked back by her force. If you saw her in the street, you'd assume she was high on sugar all the time; she actually never stopped moving.

I had to move my face so that her short, dark, spiky hair was out the way of my mouth before I answered, "Hey Ali." I laughed and looked over at Jasper to greet him.

"Hey Jazz" I said whilst still in Alice's grasp.

"Alright, Bella." He smiled at me.

As I returned his smile, I noticed for somehow the first time that though Edward, Emmett and Jasper were all blood related siblings, there were very few similarities in their appearance.

Other than their seriously above average heights and the fact that they were amazingly good looking, you wouldn't be able to tell they were related at all.

Emmett had curly, dark brown hair and eyes. His muscles were massive, and his dimples definitely matched. Despite his intimidating appearance though, he wouldn't hurt a fly – at least as long as that fly weren't screwing with someone he cared about.

Jasper was the complete opposite. He had dirty blonde hair and bright blue eyes. He was probably the most lanky of the three, though he had a small hint at muscles and was pretty damn strong from what I could tell.

Edward was somewhere in the middle. Bronze hair, green eyes and an amazing glimpse of muscles with out going too over the top.

I was suddenly extremely curious as to what their parents looked like.

I let go of Alice as we were called to the dining table and the three of us headed into the dining room.

Em, Rose and Abby were already seated in their regular seats waiting for us.

Sometime after digging into our meal, Jasper turned to me, "so I hear you met Edward today." He stated.

"Who's Edward?" Abby asked me with a raised eyebrow and a smile.

"Our baby brother!" Em and Jazz answered simultaneously.

"Oh right," she smiled, "he's so hot, Mum. You better go for it!"

I almost choked on my food, "How would you know what he looks like?"

"Oh, well there's a couple pictures in the study of Em, Jazz and this other guy with… reddish hair, that's him right?" When everyone agreed, she continued, "well, he's pretty damn good looking. It's a shame he's so much older than I am…" she trailed off, not wanting to offend anyone I suspected, considering everyone here other than her was at least the same age as him besides herself and Alice.

I shook my head at my daughter, feeling amused, but her response put Emmett into 'over protective mode'.

"Now hold on a minute! You're way too young for all this stuff." He claimed.

She laughed "Em, I'm 16, I've been old enough for this stuff for a while now."

"No, you're not," he countered, "you should be concentrating on school and doing your homework and staying away from boys. Oh and you can forget wearing a skirt again until you turn 21." He huffed.

I had to admit, it was sweet how much he cared for Abby, but this little talk was just a little late.

"What's wrong with me wearing a skirt?"

"Well there's nothing wrong with **long** skirts, but that one your wearing," he waved a hand towards Abby, "is pathetic. People are going to think you're easy, do you want that?"

She rolled her eyes at him, "Sorry, Dad," she sneered sarcastically, "why do you even care so much? It's not like it even matters." She said licking her lips and her eyes focused on nothing in particular.

"I don't want you to get hurt. I want you to be happy and I don't want anyone to take advantage of you. Is that such a bad thing?" he asked, his feelings clearly hurt by Abby's question. It was common knowledge that Emmett's heart was his biggest muscle and he didn't like people questioning his behaviour.

Abby didn't react at first, just sat licking and biting her lips in thought. Eventually, completely disregarding Emmett's query, she said, "So… for me to be happy, I should be like a nun then?" Abby questioned him with raised eyebrows.

"Well, it wouldn't do any harm would it?" Emmett almost snapped at her.

Rose, Alice and I laughed knowingly, causing Emmett and Jasper to look at us curiously.

"What's so funny?" Jasper questioned, feeling out the loop for the first time.

"Nothing really, but to be honest, Em your little speech is going to have little effect." Rosalie said.

"Yeah Em, don't waste your breath." Alice chuckled.

Emmett obviously wasn't as amused as us, "Why not?"

"This one's on you, Abs." I said when no one else answered. If she wanted to admit it, then that was up to her, but just because the rest of us had to tease Emmett, it didn't mean she had to unwillingly give up information she may want to keep private.

She blushed and put a hand on Emmett's arm. "I already have a boyfriend, Em." She smiled apologetically. This was the sort of thing Emmett would want to hear about before everyone else.

His eyes widened. "**What?"**

While the rest of the table laughed, Abby mouthed the word 'sorry' at him. To be honest, Emmett's main concern at the moment was probably that he hadn't had the chance to interrogate him until he deemed him not worthy of my daughter and sent him away.

"Just one question… have you… well… you know?" Okay, maybe that was just his second greatest concern.

Abby blushed furiously and looked at him with wide eyes, "**EM!**" she exclaimed, "oh my God! Seriously, you know... whatever..."

Jasper stopped laughing immediately and his jaw went slack and his eyes wide as he turned to look at me.

None of the girls were phased. I found out a while ago and Alice and Rose had had their suspicions for some time even before that. Apparently she had asked them to go to Victoria's Secret with her to pick out lingerie 'just in case'.

"Anyway," I said, trying to relieve some of the tension, but was cut off by Jasper.

"Wait a minute, you guys _knew_ about this? Don't you care?" Even Jasper could be a little protective when he wanted to be.

"Of course we did, silly!" Alice smiled at Abby then turned back to her husband, "of course we care, but she's happy, so we're happy for her. Besides, it's not difficult to figure these things out when a teenage girl asks you about what kind of underwear guys find as the biggest turn on."

"I… don't… excuse me?" Emmett asked.

Abby blushed, so Rose decided it was time to put an end to this conversation. "Look, the poor girl's clearly embarrassed. It's too late to do anything about it now; she can't go out and live the life of a nun or whatever, what a shame." She said sarcastically, "Now, Em, she's not your daughter and Bella's fine with it, so can we _please_ change the topic?"

Abby smiled appreciatively at Rose and looked to Emmett.

"Hey, when we finished you wanna see if you can finally beat me at x box? Haven't had much practise recently, I probably suck ass now."

I could swear I heard him mumble "yeah you've probably been practising a different type of two player game" under his breath, but no one else seemed to notice. He took a few deep breaths to calm himself then looked at her and smiled his winning dimpled smile and agreed to her challenge.

"Oh, Bella, before I forget, you're coming shopping with me on Thursday." Alice declared.

"Err, why?" I asked her, confused.

"I mentioned that you were going out with Edward on Friday and she figured you'd probably need a new outfit." Rose interjected.

Right, should have expected that from Alice. "Okay, sure, fun." I said unconvincingly.

"You have a _date_ with Edward?" Abby smiled at me.

I nodded in return.

"This could get interesting." She smirked and declared it was time to 'thrash Emmett's ass' and left the table with Emmett and Jasper trailing after her.

After some time, I put Emmett out of his misery and declared that it was late and Abby needed to get home in order to get up in time for school.

Both Abby and Emmett sat looking at me with their arms crossed and huge pouts on their faces before eventually giving in and calling it a night.

We said goodbye to everyone and left the house.

The moment we sat in the car, Abby faced me and asked, "so, when do I get to meet the gorgeous Edward then?"

I smiled and shrugged, not knowing when – or if ever – she would meet him.

Well, at least **so far** everything was going to plan.

**Well in comparison to the last chapters, this was pretty long actually. I'm not sure how happy I am with this one though, but I can't actually imagine it happening any other way.**

**OH! Just btw, although the last bit at Emmett and Rosalie's seemed like a bit of a filler, it was actually pretty important:  
you know, it established relationships between those characters, Abby found out about Edward and Emmett got to be over protective.**

**Anyway, feel free to review or something =]**


	4. Chapter 4 Dr Cullen

Chapter 4 - Dr. Cullen

**Edward's POV**

The days pass unbelievably slowly when you're waiting for something.

It was only Wednesday, and it felt like everything was moving in slow motion.

If I was honest, it was because I really wanted Friday to come so I could see Bella again.

I couldn't believe that I, Edward Cullen, was looking forward to a date.

With a woman.

And though I'd only met her once, I actually already thought she was amazing.

Definitely did not see that one coming.

It's weird, I had thought that Tanya had pretty much destroyed my chances of being happy with a woman ever again. Have to say I was fucking happy that I was wrong for once.

"Edward? Edward? Hellooo!"

I blinked several times and shook my head slowly, bringing myself back to the present time.

Fuck. I'd actually managed to space out in the middle of the doctors' lounge. What the fuck was wrong with me? I never did this. The hospital was the one place I was focused and I was actually seriously pissed that I'd managed to lose concentration here.

I noticed my colleague, Ben Cheney was stood in front of me in his white doctor's jacket and glasses. He held a cup of coffee to his lips while eyeing me intently.

"You alright Edward?" he asked with a hint of concern.

I shrugged, "Sure am." I replied simply. It wasn't even a lie. At least, not really.

He eyed me in suspicion for a few moments before shrugging it off and smiling at me.

I tried and failed to keep the grimace off my face as Ben conveniently remembered that Emmett had called and left a message asking me to call him back before I finished my shift. Oh what fun…

I sighed and picked up the phone in the corner of the room and dialled the number of Emmett's 'office'. He answered on the second ring.

"Hey, Emmett speaking." I laughed; this was his attempt at being formal.

"Hey Em, it's Edward." I said.

"Eddie!" he yelled, "What time do you get off?" he asked.

"If you don't want me to go apeshit on your ass, you won't call me Eddie again." I said even though I knew even that would be useless, "and I get off in about an hour, why?"

"Well that means you can get your ass down here after your shift and we can hang out and chat for a bit, just you, me and Jasper"

I sighed internally, "Sure thing, Em, I'll see you soon."

After hanging up I went to see one of my patients, Harry Clearwater who had been admitted earlier this morning due to a heart attack. If I was honest with myself, there wasn't a lot we could do for him and it wasn't looking good, but I was determined to try my fucking best for him and his family. I knew he had a wife - she had been here for the past six hours from when he was admitted and was determined not to leave his bedside - and I think I heard something about him having a son and a daughter who were almost grown up, though I had yet to see them.

I walked into his room and noticed that there were two new male visitors along with the patient's wife.

One of the two men was in a wheelchair himself, making me mildly curious as to how he ended up in that position. He was a native American - probably from the Quilete reservation in La Push - and had long, black hair with hints of grey which he had tied back with an elastic band. He was probably in his late fifties or early sixties.

The other man had his back turned to me, but he had brown, curly hair that was thinning slightly. He was a little plump and relatively average height. From what he was wearing, I could tell he was a police officer.

I automatically cleared my throat to gain the attention of the people in the room, though it was only his wife who regarded me.

Mrs Clearwater turned to look in my direction, her eyes were red and puffy and her face flushed from crying, "please say you have some good news." she whispered.

I licked my lips nervously, "Mrs Clearwater, I'm only here to check up on him, though I believe we may be considering surgery if his condition does not improve."

She nodded slowly and began to cry heartbreaking tears once more.

The man who I identified as the police officer stood up and turned to encase her in his arms, whispering words of comfort in her ears.

It was chief Swan. That would make sense, everyone our little town of Forks knew he and Mr Clearwater were friends. Hell, everyone knew who he was, who his friends were and who his family were.

_Fuck_. Who his _family_ were. As far as I knew, the only instant family he had left was his daughter, Isabella Swan.

Bella Swan.

As in the woman I was going to be taking out on Friday.

I was suddenly very aware of the fact this man had the legal right to carry a gun.

I walked towards the heart monitor to check Mr Clearwater's heart beat patterns - no improvement yet.

"I'm afraid there's still no change, we'll keep you updated with any progression he makes." I said as I headed out the door.

"Listen, thanks Dr…" Chief Swan trailed off.

"Cullen." I answered with a smile. Well I can hide my nerves pretty damn well then.

"You're Carlisle's youngest boy right?"

"I am." I answered.

"Well," he started, "tell him and the rest of your family I said hello."

"You know my family?" I asked curiously.

He let out a small laugh, "well, mainly your parents, but my daughter is pretty good friends with your brothers as well I believe."

I knew that last bit already but replied, "Oh I see, well I'll tell them I saw you." I smiled again as I left the room.

When my shift finished I climbed into my car and pulled out my phone and turned it on. This reminded me I needed to get Bella's number in order to contact her, it was a good thing I was on my way to see Emmett.

I drove through the town to where Emmett's gym was on the outskirts of Port Angeles.

"Hey my brother." Emmett waved at me when I stepped out the car and inside the gym, "lets go to the office."

I followed him in the gym through to the back room which Emmett referred to as his office. It was hardly that - it was behind the reception bit at the front and the size of a small storage room, but he enjoyed having his own space at work and he liked it so who was I to complain?

I noticed Jasper was already here sipping on what was probably an espresso from Starbucks. I would have sworn he was addicted to those things.

"So someone care to explain what exactly I'm doing here?" I questioned them.

"We just want to talk to you about some stuff." Jasper replied.

"Yeah, and give you this." Emmett added as he handed me a piece of paper that had Bella's name and number on it. I folded it up and shoved it in the breast pocket of my shirt and thanked him.

"You know where you're gonna take her yet?" Jasper asked with a raised eyebrow.

I nodded and smiled. Of course I knew, but there was no way I was going to tell anyone until Bella knew where that was. So when they asked, I told them it was a secret and they could find out on Saturday if they really wanted to.

"Soo…" Emmett said with his arms crossed and a stern look across his face, "how do you feel about Bella?" Oh my God this better not be some sort of weird interrogation.

"Um… she seems nice?" I answered hesitantly. It sounded like a question.

"Just nice?" Jasper said with raised eyebrows.

"What do you want from me? I've met the woman once, I don't know much about her yet but yes she seems great, okay I'm… attracted to her." I said the last part quietly.

Emmett grinned widely at me and Jasper smirked. They both then motioned with my hands for me to continue.

"Um… she's pretty. No, wrong word, she's beautiful. Her eyes, just wow. She looks like she has a great body," Emmett nodded at that, I wondered how much he had seen of it, "and her lips, they're so… full, kissable. It looks like she knows how to use them." I stopped, slightly embarrassed by my rant, it made me sound a bit too feminine or maybe perverted for my liking, but whatever.

"Hell yeah she definitely knows how to use those!" Emmett shouted out as he winked, clearly without thinking because once the words had left his mouth, his eyes went wide and he covered his mouth with his huge hand as though it would undo everything he said. He was avoiding eye contact with both Jasper and I for very good reason.

I looked over to Jasper. He looked as shocked as I felt. His eyes too were wider than normal and his mouth was wide open.

"Well…. Thanks, good to know." I said awkwardly.

"Well personally I didn't need to be told that." Jasper said quickly.

"Technically I didn't say what I meant so I haven't told you anything. Not really." Emmett huffed. Though I agreed with him on that one, his body language and facial expressions showed well enough what he probably meant.

"Yeah maybe but we can guess." Jasper mumbled downing the rest of his espresso in one go. We were obviously on the same wave length.

Emmett grinned again at the both of us, no longer embarrassed but clearly proud of the fact we just found out that there were almost - or maybe even actual - sexcapades involving him and Bella when they were together. I shot him a look of disgust triggered by the fact that he didn't seem to care and he shrugged.

"Rose and Alice know. What does it matter anyway? It's only-"

I cut him off there, not wanting to hear what exactly it was. I could figure that out on my own. "Okay great. I'll be off now then. Bye." I called as I ran out of the building back to my car before driving back home.

I made myself a decent cup of coffee then relaxed on the sofa, turning the TV on.

I pulled the piece of paper out my pocket - I hadn't quite managed to change my clothes yet - and added Bella's number to my contact list before hitting the call button.

She answered after several rings, "_Hello?_"

"Hi Bella, it's Edward." I informed her.

"Well hi, and to what do I owe this little phone call?"

I smiled, "I figured I'd just remind you that I'll be seeing you Friday, I'll pick you up at half seven?" I asked in an attempt not to sound rude.

"Sure, do you need my address?" she asked. Shit I'd completely forgotten about that. I never thought about the fact that I'd have to go to her house to pick her up, just that I was going to be picking her up.

Embarrassed, I confirmed that I would indeed need an address and scribbled it down on the back of the folded up paper that held her phone number as she told me.

"Oh, before I forget, where are we going? I need to know what clothing would be appropriate…" she trailed off.

"Sorry Swan, it's a surprise." I told her with a grin on my face.

She huffed down the phone and I could swear I heard her mumble something about not liking surprises which caused me to laugh. If she was with me - which I honestly hoped was going to happen - she'd have to get used to it.

I wondered though, if I could take the opportunity to arrange her outfit for her. She'd need something with a bit of class for where we were heading, maybe not so far as elegant but definitely respectable.

After thinking briefly about that, I said into the phone, "Surprises are my forté I'm afraid. But if you're in need of ideas for clothes, a dress or a skirt or something would do."

She chuckled down the phone, even though it was slightly muffled it was still a beautiful sound.

"So if I were to wear a skirt, I should go topless then, Cullen?" she joked.

I laughed. Though I'm sure I could appreciate a topless Bella, it probably wouldn't be acceptable in the restaurant I'd picked out - or any restaurant for that matter.

"Maybe that wouldn't be such a good idea, though I definitely wouldn't mind so much," I paused, worried I may have offended her, I mean we hadn't really had a first date yet. For all I knew I was pushing the boundaries, but she just laughed so I continued, "whatever you wear will be fine." I said honestly.

After that we said our goodbyes and hung up.

Even though it was very brief, her slight teasing in that one conversation was a complete turn on.

Then there was the thought of Bella in a skirt. That was a turn on too. Showing off her long, probably pale, silky smooth legs. Maybe when she sits down it'd bunch up a little to show more of her thighs. Just a little bit closer to her - from what I could see - tight, perfect ass.

Then the thought of her in a skirt whilst topless was an even bigger turn on. Her breasts were the right size; she wasn't flat chested but she didn't have I-can-knock-you-out-just-by-running-up-to-you size breasts either which I could fully appreciate. They would fit right in the palm of my hands. If she was shirtless, the cold air would harden her nipples making her that little bit more desirable than she already was. I could imagine myself flicking them while I massaged her breasts. Maybe even licking them.

My thoughts had me rock hard. Stupid lust induced thoughts.

_Right Edward time for some __**boner killing **__thoughts_: Dad in Speedos, Jasper skinny dipping, Bella sucking Emmett's cock, - that just made me gag - Grandma in the shower…

Okay hard-on was definitely gone. Thank fuck. I could not stand having to 'help myself' at the age of thirty five.

I needed to get my head out the gutter. I was not some hormonal, teenage boy.

_Though I wonder if Bella would ever mind referring to me as Dr Cullen?_

Sigh. God, I'm a horny fuck.

**Just a few things to keep in mind:**

**This is a bit of a filler,**

**Edward hasn't got any in a while, so sorry but he will be a little perverted every now and then,**

**The thing with Emmett & Bella can be explained, just be patient,**

**Andd… that's it =]**


	5. Chapter 5 Compliments of Alice

**This was really difficult to write for some reason. **

**I think Bella's POV is generally harder for me to write though… just by the way =]**

**I also have very limited knowledge on American clothes shops, I do realise there are loads more than the one I mentioned but… well all the other ones I know of or have been to don't supply the sort of stuff Bella needs. So bear with me on that one. **

**Thanks to the reviewers/people who added to alert or favourites so far and just to all you loverly readers. =D**

**Oh, and l don't own Twilight. Still.**

Chapter 5 - Compliments of Alice

**Bella's POV**

What a joke.

It was Thursday morning, I had the day off work - to go clothes shopping I might add - and was looking forward to a lie in.

Unfortunately for me, my best friend happens to be Alice Cullen, which destroyed any hopes I had of sleeping in. I mean yeah, normally I would be up by now for work, but that was hardly the point. My name shouldn't even be allowed to be in the same sentence as the words 'early' and 'mornings' whatever day it is.

Alice was noisily rummaging through my wardrobe and yelling at me to wake up.

I groaned and covered my face with my pillow.

"BELLA! Get the hell up. Do you know what the time is? It's 9am,"_yep, too early,_ "Abby has gone to school and I've sat around being bored for an hour. You are wasting valuable shopping time!" Alice almost screamed at me.

"It's _early!_ How long have you been here? Because there's plenty of time left to go shopping later you know." I replied sleepily.

"I've been here an hour, how did you not get that?" she sighed, "Maybe for anyone else, there's time later, but there's also time now and, if you haven't realised, I'm Alice Cullen. You should know already that I _know _that shopping takes time, effort and consideration." she said in a blatant tone as though it was the most obvious thing in the world.

I rolled my eyes and slowly managed to get out of bed. Sure I was exhausted - it was early, and to be honest I didn't really want to go shopping, but Alice was a lot to handle if you weren't doing what she wanted, so it was easier to just follow her demands.

She smiled at me and ordered me to go downstairs and eat some breakfast while she sorted out my outfit for the day. I happily complied; I was starving.

After finishing my coffee and toast, Alice called me back up to get changed. She had picked out a white tank top and a denim miniskirt, which I could actually get away with wearing, considering it was one of those uncommon days in Forks where it wasn't cold or raining.

The second I stepped out my bedroom, Alice was there, grabbing my hand and pulling me downstairs, out the front door to her brand new yellow Porsche.

"I didn't grab my money yet!" I whined.

"Shut up, woman. This is my gift to you, don't complain or I'll release my wrath on you. Do you want that?" she challenged.

I sighed and shook my head from side to side. She seemed happy enough with that because she literally shoved me towards her car as she got in and started it. Once my door was shut we were on our way to Port Angeles.

We spent at least an hour walking round different clothing shops, but Alice deemed almost everything we stumbled across unworthy of her money and my body so we ended up driving out of Port Angeles and to Seattle.

I was pretty content going into somewhere along the lines of Macy's but Alice thought that I had enough clothing from there already so that was no option.

I told Alice there was really no point going all that way just to find clothes. She had her own logic though; "We may as well make a day of this. The day is young and all that bullshit. Besides, Seattle has Victoria's Secret. That place has fucking everything! We could probably just spend the whole time in there y'know."

I just rolled my eyes and stared out the window until we reached The large town.

We hopped out the car and headed to the mall, mutually deciding we needed to head to the food court before anything else. We hurriedly stuffed our faces, laughing at each other when we had food smeared across our lips or I took the piss when Alice's coke came out her nose when she laughed at the wrong moment.

When we had finished, Alice grabbed my hand and tugged me forcefully into Victoria's Secret. She was scanning through the rails of clothes while I stood eyeing the outfits she would occasionally hold onto.

Going into the changing rooms, trying on the dresses she picked out for me, I found a few that shocked and terrified me - there was no way I was going to be seen dead wearing these too short, too tight dresses to a restaurant... or ever really.

In the end, there were two dresses that I couldn't choose between and Alice insisted I got them both. One was a black, strapless dress that came down to my knees with a sweetheart neckline. The other was slightly more casual; a red, O-Ring bra top dress that came to mid calf and showed a good amount of cleavage. Alice had picked a black pair of heels that she confirmed went with anything.

Though, in typical Alice fashion, I wasn't allowed to leave without purchasing some new underwear because "even if no one gets to see it, **you** know it's there." so I ended up with a black, lace push up bra and a matching pair of black lace panties.

As usual, I felt bad for allowing Alice to spend so much money on me, but she repetitively told me it was fine and that I should stop worrying.

She dropped me off at home and agreed to be at mine tomorrow to help me prepare for my date with Edward. I just agreed and hurried to get inside. I loved Ali, but she was a shattering little pixie.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The next day, Alice turned up so she could play her favourite game of Bella Barbie in preparation for my date with Edward.

After I took a shower, we easily agreed that I should wear the black, strapless dress we purchased yesterday so I slipped it on pulling some panties on underneath before I was forced to sit through Alice's makeover. She did my hair in light curls and applied minimal amounts of make up to my face - a little eye shadow, mascara and blusher - to highlight my key features, making me look less plain. With hair and make up done, I put the new heels on which easily gave me an extra three inches height.

I had to admit, Alice was a miracle worker. As I looked in the mirror, I wondered how she managed to transform me so easily into someone attractive when, in comparison to my everyday appearance I was below average, but I was grateful for her talent.

When she was finished she called Abby in to pass her judgement, who merely gave a thumbs up before plopping down on my bed.

"Bella, you look fucking hot. If I had balls or liked tits, I'd be all over you right now." Alice exclaimed with a hand on her hips looking me over, causing both Abby and I to laugh, "lucky for all of us I'm a straight woman hey?" she winked, "I should have seriously gone into the makeover business. Though I'm sure I wouldn't have such a good basis to work on then."

"You do look nice, Mum." Abby added.

I grinned at her, which was when I noticed that she too was all dressed up. Where was she going?

"Going somewhere nice?" I questioned her.

She shrugged and nodded. No explanation, nothing.

"You didn't feel like mentioning it earlier?"

She huffed a quiet 'sorry' before explaining "I'm just going to a little party at Claire Yorkie's house." I didn't exactly realise she was friends with Eric Yorkie's daughter, but whatever. It was nice to know; me and him had been good friends at high school as well. But before I could be completely happy with her answer, my 'Mum' side took over.

"Who's going? Is there going to be alcohol? There had better not be drugs there."

She cocked an eyebrow looking at me sceptically before answering, "No! No drugs, okay? There will probably be some alcohol, but relax, I won't get smashed." She took a deep breath. "I'm not sure of everyone who's going, but I'm heading over with Chris, Amie, Katie, Nick and Daniel." she stopped before adding an afterthought, "Oh, Seth and Leah Clearwater as well possibly."

"Right." I narrowed my eyes at her. Lucky I trusted almost everyone she was with tonight, though I had still to meet her boyfriend, Chris. "What are you doing after?"

She sighed, "I'm going round Katie's, I won't be home tonight."

I nodded and there was a short space of silence where Abby looked at the clock then, breaking said silence announced that she needed to leave.

"Have fun!" Alice called after her as I waved.

Alice turned to face me, noticing my considerably disappointed expression, "C'mon, Bells. You can't keep her locked up forever. Besides she cant just sit here alone while you go out and have fun, that's hardly fair. She's a good girl, you know that. She'll be fine."

I sighed in defeat and looked fixedly at the wall behind her before whispering, "I know." and I did. I just didn't want her to grow up quite yet.

Alice squeezed my arm tightly before pulling away and looking the clock also, "Oh crap! I better get out of here, Edward will be here in ten minutes. Have fun. I want all the gory details tomorrow!"

She kissed my cheek and ran out as I called my goodbye to her.

At exactly 7:30pm, there was a knock at the door signalling Edward's arrival. I ran to the door and swung it open.

There he stood looking perfect as usual in a pair of somewhat loose jeans and a white button down shirt that showed off his amazing muscles. He had his hands in his jeans pockets and was smiling his signature crooked smile that could dazzle anyone who had the ability to see.

He definitely filled the position of sexy doctor well. I found myself wondering what he'd look like dressed up in that white jacket, doing his job. Maybe if there was nothing under his jacket and we happened to be the only ones in the doctor's lounge, he'd take it off and I'd be able to see him in all his glory.

My eyes automatically widened at my thoughts and I internally scolded myself for thinking such things about a man I had only met once before this.

He must have noticed my expression because he looked puzzled for a moment or two before he smiled at me again and said hello. I returned his greeting and left the house - forgetting a jacket - and locked the door behind me.

As we walked to his car, he complimented me, "You look amazing tonight, Bella."

I laughed nervously, "Well, it's compliments of Alice."

"Ah," he said as he opened the passenger door of his car for me, "remind me to thank her later."

I blushed and nodded as I stepped inside.

When we were both seated, he sped off out of my drive.

Holy shit he drove like a maniac. I seriously feared for my life and I didn't dare look at the speed. My hands instinctively grasped the chair and my eyes widened as I took in the surroundings flying by. Surely he wasn't that eager to get to the restaurant.

"Do you think you could slow down?" I asked panicked.

His eyebrows furrowed and he asked "Why?"

My eyebrows shot up and my eyes - if possible - widened further. "I don't really want to die tonight in your car!" I almost screamed.

He rolled his eyes, "I'm actually a pretty good driver. I've never crashed before."

"There's a first time for everything. Please, Edward, slow down." I begged.

He sighed but did actually slow the car down though I'm pretty sure he muttered something about hating to drive slow. Though, we were at the top of the speed limit; it was hardly slow.

As soon as he parked the car he flung his door open and ran round to my side, before I could even move, to open my door for me. It was a nice gesture.

I looked up at the restaurant he had bought me to, I laughed loudly at the name. He had bought me to La Bella Italia and, though it was a really nice place, it was one of those really 'ironic' first date restaurants that people had bought me to many times.

Edward asked me what I found so funny and I explained the numerous times I'd come here and he looked disappointed, causing me to fill with guilt, so I reassured him, "Don't worry, I love this place. This is where I would have chosen, don't worry."

It seemed to work because he instantly perked up and held the door open, signalling me to go in first.

We stepped inside the restaurant and the hostess showed us to our seats.

We were shown to a table that was surrounded by other empty ones. It was nice and private.

Like the gentleman I'm almost certain he is, Edward pulled out my chair for me to sit on and pushed it slightly closer to the table.

He took his seat and the hostess handed us our menus and announced that someone would be over to take our drink orders shortly before departing.

I looked across the table at Edward and he was looking at me intently licking his lips in what I assumed was a thoughtful expression. I blushed at the gesture then raised my eyebrows at him.

He smirked and said "Sorry, I was just wondering if it'd be rude to assume I could order us a bottle of wine."

"No I don't mind. Any kind of red would be nice, please" I replied shyly. It was quite sweet that he was considering what I wanted.

That moment, the waitress appeared at our table with a huge smile on her face, "Good evening, what can I get you guys to drink?" though the question was supposed to be directed at both of us, she was smiling at Edward.

He motioned her to come closer and whispered something in her ear. She nodded and smiled at me this time, causing me to furrow my eyebrows in confusion.

Edward didn't give me the chance to voice my question about what he said to her because he quickly asked me what I was going to order.

I looked at my menu, though there was no point, the number of times I'd been here, I knew that their mushroom ravioli was the best dish, so I told him that was what I was going to order.

"Good choice." he agreed with my thoughts, "I think though, I might get the vegetable lasagne." he paused briefly before continuing, "I'm a vegetarian."

I smiled at him.

The waitress came over with our wine, poured it into a glass for Edward to taste. He nodded so she filled both our glasses. She then took our orders, once again smiling briefly at me before turning to keep her gaze on Edward. _I wonder why?_ I thought sarcastically.

"So," he started, "all I've heard about you is that you're close to my siblings and their other halves and that you're amazing," in typical Bella Swan fashion, I blushed, _again,_ "care to elaborate?" he asked.

"Err well…" I stuttered, embarrassed, "there's not much to tell."

He smirked and laughed quietly while shaking his head, "oh you're not getting out of it that easily."

I bit my bottom lip - I seriously needed to stop doing that - and looked down at the table, running my index finger round the rim of my wine glass, "Okay… well I'm Bella Marie Swan - don't ever call me Isabella or you will regret it," I joked and he nodded with his gorgeous crooked smile, I cleared my throat and continued, "I'm 35, turn 36 in September. I've been divorced for three years, but me and my ex are still really good friends." I figured that for now I'd leave out the reasons behind it. It's nothing big but I don't particularly like talking about it and it wasn't important to share just yet. "I'm beyond clumsy as well, it's unbelievable." I stopped due to his outburst of laughter at that last part and a glared at him.

He stopped laughing and help up his hands, "Sorry, it's just… endearing I guess."

I rolled my eyes at him and took a sip of my wine. It was probably the best wine I'd ever tasted; I wasn't usually a huge fan of wine - I mean I wasn't bad just not my favourite - but this definitely had a great taste.

"What sort of wine is this? Its delicious."

He nodded in agreement and pulled the bottle out of the cooler to show to me, "It's Merlot. I'm guessing you don't usually drink wine?" I shook my head no so he continued, "well this is a pretty good wine to start off on. It's a pretty good pairing with your dish, actually - it's soft, has a more fruitful taste."

I stared at him blankly, I really did have no fucking clue about wines. "Right… I knew that." I said unconvincingly.

"Sure you did. Sorry if my little wine lecture bored you, I just find this crap interesting." he grinned.

"Not at all," I was being honest, "I like seeing people talk about things they're interested in. Shows that they depth, rather than just filling the time with unnecessary chatter."

He leaned his elbows on the table and focused his gaze completely on me, "I like the way you think, Swan."

The waitress bought over our food. We thanked her and began to eat our meals. When he had finished a bite of his lasagne, he asked, "anything else of interest I might want to know about you?"

I thought briefly about mentioning Abby but I thought it might be a bit early for that so instead told him "Well my parents got divorced as well but I was only a baby when it happened so I'm an only child. My Mum lives in Florida with her new husband, Phil and my Dad lives in Forks as well, he's the chief of police. I like to read , particularly the classics and I write as well from time to time, though nothing of consequence so far. I'm pretty into romance, you know, books, films, even music." I paused, hoping he didn't take that to mean I expected him to be overly romantic. "Um… you know what I do for a living already… other than that not much of interest really." I finished and shovelled a piece of ravioli into my mouth.

He nodded. "You seem much more interesting than you give yourself credit for." he said as he looked into my eyes.

I smiled and shrugged, "I don't know. Anyway tell me more about yourself."

He took a long drink from his glass and began, "Well, obviously," he started, "my name's Edward Antony Cullen. You know my profession, my family and the fact that I too am divorced. I'm 36 next month, on June the 20th. I've played piano since the age of 7, it helps me to relax. I also like to read." he paused briefly, "I've recently started trying my hand at taxidermy. I know people find it disgusting, but I've always found it really interesting, you know?" he finished with a glint of something unrecognisable in his voice.

I didn't know what to say. I was desperate - beyond desperate - for him to be joking, I mean, taxidermy? That's so… weird. I had to believe he was taking the piss but his tone of voice was so serious and convincing that I couldn't not believe him.

After who knows how long of uncomfortable silence - Edward staring at me while I gaped at him open-mouthed in shock - he started laughing and said "don't worry Bella, I was just fucking with you." _Oh thank God for that!_

I breathed a sigh of relief and the conversation flowed effortlessly from there. Talking about what we'd been up to since Monday - apparently Jasper and Emmett had some talk with him about me - and how work has been. Pointless stuff but it was natural.

When he finished his meal, he leaned back on his chair and looked at me intently. I distracted myself from him by finishing my food as he had.

"Can I just say, that dress really does look amazing on you." he said after I'd mimicked his actions and sat back on my chair.

I had to suppress a laugh, "Yeah right."

He rolled his eyes and asked if I was ready to go. I nodded and he asked for the bill. He paid and left a pretty reasonable tip as we headed out the restaurant.

As before, he held the door open for me as we exited the restaurant and as I got into his car.

He got in the driver's side and pulled out of the spot he was parked in. I looked to him, begging with my eyes for him not to drive so bloody fast this time. He must have got what I was saying because he drove at a more reasonable speed.

We sat in silence for I don't know how long - though it wasn't awkward - before I started shivering.

He definitely noticed, he turned the heat on and reached one hand to the back seat, keeping his eyes on the road and his other hand on the wheel. He pulled a jacket forward and handed it to me and told me to put it on.

"Thanks." I said in a quiet voice as I shrugged into it and snuggled up against the car door.

Edward reached his hand across the gap between the seats to hesitantly place his hand on mine and rub it slowly. I smiled at the shock that occurred from the contact, it can only be a good thing.

Eventually we pulled up outside my house, but I wasn't really ready to leave him yet. As far as I was concerned, this had been an amazing night.

I was just about to thank him for driving me and for the wonderful evening but he signalled with his hands for me to stay where I was as he got out the car.

What the hell was he doing? I hoped he didn't think he was coming in. Oh shit, what if he was expecting that?

He had come round to my side of the car and opened the door again. Maybe he was just being a gentleman again.

"Let me walk you to your door." he offered with an outstretched hand.

I took it and stepped out the car, shutting the door firmly behind me.

Hand in hand, we walked up to the porch of my house and stood facing each other, looking into each others eyes.

"Would you mind if I kissed you goodnight?" he asked timidly after some time. Perfect gentleman.

I smiled and nodded.

He paused before leaning in slowly, keeping his eyes on mine until our noses were touching. It was at that point our eyes closed and his lips softly pressed against mine. The kiss was short but that little shock that occurred every time we touched was present in the kiss, making my legs melt. He had soft yet firm lips and just this sweet peck left me wanting more.

He pulled away and I looked at the floor. He lifted my chin with his free hand so I was looking at him and looked into my eyes before kissing my forehead.

"Goodnight, Bella." he said and lifted our intertwined hands to kiss mine before he let go and headed to the car.

"Goodnight Edward." I called after him just loud enough for him to hear.

I grabbed my keys out my bag and unlocked my door before stepping inside.

I shut the door swiftly and leaned my back against it, then I realised I still had his jacket on. I pulled it round me tighter welcoming the extra warmth. I thought about the evening and though nothing particularly spectacular happened, I couldn't help the shit eating grin that spread across my face and I sighed in absolute contentment.

I definitely owe Emmett and Rosalie big time.


	6. Chapter 6 Unwanted Interruptions

Chapter 6 - Unwanted Interruption

**Edward's POV**

Bella and I were now officially dating.

Our first date had gone really well. I had gotten to learn a bit more about her, and I told her the basics on what made me, me too. The conversation flowed easily and there was no moment of awkwardness. We joked around and talked about our families and interests. Then it ended with a kiss. Our _first_ kiss. Pretty much the whole car ride back to Bella's I was quiet, contemplating whether or not I should go for it, but it was becoming increasingly difficult to resist. But she let me. She fucking let me kiss her! Since that moment I have been head over heels in love with her lips, if that's even possible.

Only a week later, we had our second date: a picnic in the park at sunset. We sat under a large, old Oak tree on a picnic blanket and watched the sunset. I learnt then that she was an amazingly good cook.

I've also managed to learn her mannerisms. It definitely helped with keeping a happy Bella.

She blushed an eye-catching shade of red when she was embarrassed - making her face brighten up - along with biting down on her lower lip, it was a surprisingly sexy gesture, even in it's innocence, and it pulled my attention fully on those delicious lips of hers. If she was pissed off, she would huff and cross her arms over her chest. It was adorable to see, like a kitten trying to be intimidating.

She also hated making eye contact. That kinda bugged me 'cause I adored looking into her eyes. They were like an addiction; hard to keep away from.

I was preparing for our third date, only three weeks after our first. It was already becoming our 'thing' for Friday evenings. She was coming to mine for the evening, where I would cook her dinner and then I figured we'd hang out and watch a film. Maybe it was a bit simplistic but I knew Bella would appreciate it more than anything too over the top.

At around six, Bella arrived at my house. I let her in and we walked into the kitchen. I headed over to check on the food while she had a look around.

"Holy shit, Edward. Your house is huge!" she exclaimed bringing a smile to my face, "You can't seriously need all this space."

I laughed and walked up behind her, wrapped my arms around her waist and placed my chin on the top of her head, the luscious scent of strawberries and freesia wafted to my nose, "No, probably not. But it's home."

She placed her hands on top of mine on her stomach "yeah well…" she paused, her face now turned in the direction of the window and yelled, "you have a _pool_ in your _garden!_"

I nodded my head, knowing she'd be able to feel the action while a grin grew on my face.

She sighed and muttered "bitch" under her breath.

_Oh hell no_.

I spun her in my arms to face me, putting my face inches away from hers and keeping eye contact, "I hope for your sake, that you did not just call me a bitch, Swan."

She bit her lip and averted her gaze downwards, though she was smiling.

The expression confirmed what she said so I did the first thing that came to mind: tickling her sides until she begged for mercy. Obviously that's what you do when your relatively new girlfriend insults you…

"Edward… please… stop!" she pleaded between her laughter.

"Hmm…" I feigned thought as I continued to tickle her, "oh okay then." I caved as I halted my movements and kissed the tip of her nose.

She sighed and leaned herself against me so I closed my arms around her again.

"So what are you making us tonight?" she asked against my chest.

"Well okay, so I cant cook-" she cut me off.

"Great. I'm going to get food poisoning. When I do I expect a heartfelt apology and presents and you begging for forgiveness."

Right. I poked her gently on her sides before continuing where she cut me off, "as I was saying, I can't cook all that much so I went with the safe bet of pasta and a salad. That okay?"

She nodded her head and asked "how long 'til I can eat? I'm so fucking hungry I could eat… Emmett."

I raised an eyebrow at her before dragging her gently across the room back to the stove to check the pasta. I was pretty sure it was done but just to check I grabbed a fork and sampled a piece. I was right, so told Bella to go sit at the dining room table where she could pour out some wine - I got the Merlot again since she seemed to like that so much - and wait for me to serve this up.

We spent the entire length of the meal teasing and joking with each other and when we had finished, we headed into the front room to choose a film.

"Really, I don't care what we watch, you're the guest." I insisted.

"Nooo…" she poked me playfully in the stomach, "it's your house, your DVDs, your fucking choice."

If I was honest, there was no point in me choosing the film, because I would be spending my time watching her watch the film instead, but she was so bloody stubborn that I randomly picked out a DVD from my vast collection. _The 40 year old virgin._ Hmm… interesting choice though maybe not appropriate.

I shoved the case in front of Bella's face, silently asking if this film was acceptable. She smiled and shrugged as we went to put it on. Once the film was in motion, I lay down on my side facing the TV on my sofa, leaving a space for Bella in front of me. She filled the space and I lay an arm lazily around her body.

Half way through the film - well I was guesstimating from the amount of time that had passed - Bella spoke up, "Really, how could someone go so long without having sex? Don't they know what they're missing out on?"

If she hadn't said anything about it, I probably would have been able to hold off, waiting for the right time but I figured since she bought it up and it was now clouding my thoughts, I could at least test the water, see how she felt about it. Let's face it I was sexually deprived and my very sexy girlfriend had just made a comment about how good it was.

I hummed in agreement and - the film now forgotten - buried my face in her neck, kissing and sucking the delicate skin there and her breathing picked up. I touched my fingers to her chin and turned her face to look at me before throwing all my want into a passionate kiss, our tongues massaging each other.

I manoeuvred myself so my body was now pressed firmly against hers from on top of her delicate frame, never breaking the kiss as my hands grabbed hers and held them above her head. When I knew she wouldn't move them I ran my hands down her arms, towards her breasts where I massaged them through her shirt with the palms of my hands. She let out a loud moan which made me instantly hard. I pressed my hips into her thigh to show her - even with the very little that had actually happened - what she was doing to me.

I broke our kiss and moved my lips to skim over her cheek, her jaw, her neck again. I sat up on my knees so I could see her better as I lifted her shirt to reveal her black lace bra that was covering her heaving breasts. I moved one hand under her left cup and played with her already hard nipple. It was difficult not to just take her right now - have rough passionate, animal sex here on my sofa - I was that aroused by her, but I wanted at least our first time to be slow and tender allowing me to learn what she liked and of every inch of her body. With my free hand I pulled the bra up and out the way to reveal her beautiful, amazing, hard-nippled breasts to me in all their glory. I continued to rub her left breast while I took her right nipple into my mouth. It had a surprisingly sweet taste - even sweeter than the rest of her - that made my balls tighten ever so slightly and I yearned to taste her arousal, knowing that would be sweeter. She arched her back pressing her nipple further into my mouth and whispered my name in a moan.

I looked up at her, she had her head thrown back and her eyes closed. I moved my mouth down her body to her stomach and placed light, open mouthed kisses there while my hands stayed at her chest.

Before I could get any further I was interrupted, "What's that beeping?" Bella asked quietly, her breathing still heavy. I couldn't hear anything, I was too into her to give a damn about anything else. I groaned and sat up hoping maybe I could concentrate on something other than her. Ah, it was my pager, something had happened at the hospital and I had a gut feeling this wasn't going to be pleasant.

All trace of my arousal now gone, I kissed the tip of her nose as she adjusted her clothes and got up to reach for the phone, dialled the number of the hospital and was put through to the receptionist, Gianna.

"Hello, Forks hospital, how can I help you?" her soft voice said through the phone.

"It's Doctor Cullen, I was just paged." I stated simply. No need to beat around the bush.

"Okay, hold on." she paused and I could hear the tapping of computer keys in the background, "I'm sorry to tell you, your patient Mr Clearwater suffered severe cardiac failure during a procedure and passed away, there was nothing to be done. Would you like Dr Cheney to inform the family?"

I paused. I'd lost a patient. I couldn't believe it, I know there was little that anyone could do, and I tried not to be too optimistic about it, but I had hoped that we could pull him through, at least for a little longer. Though I had no reason to be, I was pissed off, disappointed with myself and quite frankly seriously upset.

I cleared my throat and told Gianna that I would be there soon and hung up.

"What happened?" Bella asked from the sofa.

"I lost one." I whispered, unable to say anything else.

She must have understood what I meant as she sat up and reached her arms out to me. I stepped towards her and she wrapped her arms tightly around my waist in comfort and leaned her head against my stomach. After I got some kind of hold on myself, I hung my arms around her shoulders in return.

I know I was probably overreacting. There really was little point in me being upset - it's not like I knew the man - but I hadn't lost a patient in so long it was a shock to the system. Over-reaction? Definitely, but deep down I'm pretty sensitive…

"I need to go to the hospital. Sort some things out, find out what's going on with the family. All the fun stuff…" I paused, remembering that Chief Swan had been there last time and could be in need of some daughterly reassurance, "You might want to come too."

She looked up at me with a confused expression and I explained that it was her father's friend who had passed and she remained silent, but nodded to confirm that she would be accompanying me.

Without much else being said, Bella and I headed over to the hospital as fast as was legally possible.

Walking into the room that only, what, half an hour ago held my least hopeful patient, I noticed there were so many more people there than there usually was. Ben was talking to Mrs Clearwater, obviously the usual 'I'm sorry for your loss we did the best we could' speech. Chief Swan and that guy in the wheelchair were there as well just staring off into space. I noticed from the corner of my eye Bella walk slowly up to her father and comfortingly wrap her arms around his shoulders. There was a tall, Native American man stood behind the guy in the wheelchair - they looked alike and I would swear father and son - with his hands on his shoulders. He looked at Bella and gave her a weak smile which she returned. Obviously, their fathers were close, so were they. Sat on Mr Clearwater's bed, were a young male and female - I assumed to be his children - with tears pouring down their cheeks.

I just stood there in the doorway for who knows how long before Ben approached me with a solemn look on his face and placed a hand on my shoulder.

"Happened in surgery. He was too weak, couldn't handle it. Sorry, man." he said in a low voice so no one else would hear.

I looked at him and nodded. I knew he was weak. I knew he was going to die. I just convinced myself that anything was possible and fate let me down.

Ben walked away and I walked further into the room, no one had moved besides Mrs Clearwater who had sat between her children wrapping her arms around them as they sat there silently crying, mourning their loss.

Eventually, the silence was broken by Bella who whispered to her father "Come on, Dad, I'll take you back home in the cruiser, okay?" she paused briefly, "I'll stay at yours tonight, be there if you need me." He shrugged in reply.

Bella looked at me apologetically so I smiled at her, assuring her it was okay. I mean, I'd have to see her tomorrow to return her truck now anyway, though I'd be lying if I said I wasn't disappointed that our evening was cut short.

Chief Swan caught her attention again, mumbling something I couldn't make out, which Bella simply replied "it's fine" to before turning to briefly look at the youngest boy in the room.

The Chief cleared his throat and rubbed his hand down his face. He announced that he should probably get going and that he'd be back the next day.

The tall Native walked up to him and wrapped an arm around his shoulder, "Sorry, Charlie. I'll bring Dad down to yours tomorrow." he said motioning to the man in the wheelchair, causing Charlie to nod and turn towards said-man and lightly grasped his wrist.

"Charlie." the man whispered, that one word held so many things: I'm sorry, see you soon, I know how you feel, help me and let me help you.

"Billy." he replied in the same tone. It held much the same and they remained in that position for a while before Charlie released him and went to offer his condolences to the Clearwaters.

Bella stood watching him, her eyes glazed over with tears. The tall guy who offered his comfort to Charlie encased her in his arms. A pang of jealousy ran through me - I wanted to be the one to comfort her - before I collected my emotions; this was not the time or place to feel jealous.

"You okay, Bells?" he asked in a caring tone.

She nodded slowly and wrapped her arms around him in return, "Fine Jake, thanks."

He kissed the top of her head - enter hint of jealousy again - and released her and I moved aside to allow her and the Chief to leave. Charlie walked past me - I was still stood by the doorway - his face blank and his movements were almost mechanical as though he was working on automatic. I felt beyond guilty.

Bella offered her condolences to the entire room and knelt in front of Mr Clearwater's family to whisper something to them. They looked at each other and Mrs Clearwater shook her head.

Bella simply nodded, squeezed her hand and walked to me. She kissed my cheek, apologised and asked if I could pick her up in her truck tomorrow morning from Charlie's and I agreed as I watched her walk out the door behind her father.

I looked at the faces in the room, all grieving the loss of a man they all loved and cared for. With a quick nod and a lick of my lips, I left them in peace.

I shouldn't have gone in. I didn't belong in there and the face that I did just made me feel like an ass.

Those people in there had lost a friend, husband, father, someone they knew and loved. I didn't know the guy and I was upset, but not for the right reasons.

I was upset because it had ruined my nearly perfect record. Because I had a knock in my confidence. Because it made me question my abilities.

What the hell had happened to me? I know I wasn't always this insensitive.

_Sigh._ Time for a talk with my father.

**Please**** don't hate me for cutting short before I could bring in some real lemons.**

**There will be lemons galore soon, don't worry, but at the right time. =]**

**Until then, love it? Hate it? Improvements? Tell me it reminds you that the weather in Denmark is amazing this time of year? Lol **

**Whatever, please review?? **


	7. Chapter 7 Teenagers

**I was planning on waiting a little longer to post this chapter but I really couldn't... so enjoy =]**

Chapter 7 - Teenagers

**Bella's POV**

Today was June 20th - Edward's birthday. He would be turning 36.

Today, he was coming round here and I was planning on giving myself to him completely.

Before this happened though, I had to meet my daughter's boyfriend, Chris.

To be honest, that was not something I particularly wanted to do today - or ever, really. I know, lots of parents want to know who their children got involved with, but I am much like my father in the way of preferring to stick to some sort of need to know basis.

I knew the meeting was only going to be brief so they could be out of here before Edward arrived, but I had never done this before. I knew Abby had had several boyfriends in the past, but this was definitely the most serious.

Abby came down the stairs and caught me sat on the sofa in the living room.

"Chris will be here soon." She stated from where she stood, leaning against the door frame.

I nodded, acknowledging what she said.

I heard her sigh loudly and felt the couch shift slightly under her weight as she flung herself down on it. I turned my face to look at her and she was staring at me intently pursing her lips, I could tell she was contemplating saying something.

She took a deep breath, "I know you have Edward coming over today and that he doesn't know about me yet. It's just…" she paused and looked down at the floor, "are you planning on telling him about me ever?"

I know she had a point, that she'd been dying to meet him since she found out about him. I had been telling her all about him, what he was like, how much she'd like him and yet I hadn't mentioned anything about her at all. I'd dug myself into a bit of a whole and I currently had no idea how to get myself out of it.

"Look," I said quietly looking down at my hands on my lap, "I will tell him, I promise, it's just I don't know how anymore. I can't imagine he's going to be too happy I kept you from him." I admitted.

"Tell you what," she laughed, "it's his birthday today, right?" she paused, _she knew when his birthday was! He didn't know her date of birth held any significance for me. I'm an awful person._ I nodded in reply to her question so she continued, "well, when he comes in, you say 'happy birthday' and I jump out and yell 'surprise!' it's the perfect plan." she said nonchalantly.

I had to laugh; trust her to make something so big sound so simplistic.

After a moment of silence she added, "Please tell him. I really want to meet him. It's not fair, I want to approve of him and threaten him with making his life a living hell if he treats you bad and," she paused grinning, "getting him to give me money or buy me things that you won't." she said with a sly grin.

I laughed, "Okay, fine. You're right. All of you are right - you, Emmett, Rose, Alice Jasper. I'll tell him okay, just not today."

I didn't say anything further and neither did she, and we sat in a comfortable silence for a couple of minutes or so. Our silence was broken by a loud knock on the door.

"That'll be Chris." She stated, getting up from where she sat, "please don't embarrass me okay?" she pleaded and I smiled, shaking my head 'no'.

She smiled and went to answer the door.

Following her lead, I too stood up but stayed put as I smoothed down my clothes and waited to see who my daughter would bring through the door.

Abby came in first, a shy smile on her face with a hint of a blush as she introduced us, "Right, Mum, this is Chris," she pointed a hand to the hall as he came to stand in the doorway.

My eyes widened briefly for a second as I took him in. definitely not what I was expecting.

Chris was around six foot tall and was fairly lanky. He had short, dirty blonde hair with pale blue eyes. He had a hint of stubble on his jaw and a small but noticeable scar on his left cheek. The thing that surprised me the most about him however, was the fact that there was no way this boy - well, man - was under the age of eighteen.

"Chris, this is my Mum." Abby finished, now holding out her hand in my direction.

I recovered myself and plastered a - what I hoped to be - believable smile on my face. He reached his hand out for me to shake and I took it hesitantly.

"It's nice to meet you, Ms Black." he said politely in a deep, rough voice and I cringed inwardly at the name.

Technically, that was my name, I hadn't had it changed; there wasn't really much point. Nevertheless, I much preferred to be called by my maiden name of Swan, mainly for my mentality's sake.

However, not wanting to raise any questions, I didn't correct him or comment and simply replied, "You too, Chris. Please, call me Bella."

He nodded and we released each other from our grasps and he went and stood next to Abby again.

He took his hand in hers and they gazed briefly into each others eyes in a surprisingly adorable gesture - my daughter with a wild blush on her cheeks - before she turned to me and announced that they should get going. Her turn to meet the parents I believed.

As they left the room I shouted "Don't be back too late." and paused before adding, "Not too early though either!" and the front door slammed shut.

I hoped they heard the latter comment as it would be too awkward if Abby came strolling in with Edward here, even if it would finally get it out there.

I wasn't surprised Abby was pissed that Edward didn't know about her yet. There was no telling how that would make her feel and it was generally common courtesy to inform someone who you were in a relationship with that you had a daughter who would come before you under any circumstances.

Emmett and Jasper had also been persistently insisting that I tell their brother about her. They knew him best and said he would understand but, I couldn't help but think otherwise. I was quite the pessimist.

I sighed and ran upstairs to change into some newer clothes and to grab Edward's birthday present: a shirt from Abercrombie and Fitch.

Alice and Rose had helped me pick it out and it took bloody ages to find the right thing. I was grateful for their assistance since I was terrible at choosing gifts. Apparently I was doing them a favour too…

"_Bella, please, you _have_ to get him this! He has no sense of style at all!" Alice whined with a scrunched up nose. I completely disagreed with her, but there was no point arguing. She was more stubborn than me._

"_Yeah, it's almost embarrassing being seen with him wearing half his shit." Rose agreed, "At least Em and Jazz have us to help them - they were just as bad - now it's your turn to help Edward."_

I rolled my eyes at the memory but I had eventually agreed to what they wanted. It would suit him and was quite nice.

I headed down into the kitchen and placed the shirt on the counter. I held my eyes on it until I was snapped out of my trance by the phone ringing.

I pushed myself away from the counter and picked up the receiver, "Hello?" I answered.

"Hi, Bella?" the voice asked and I hummed in agreement, "it's Seth."

I smiled. Seth was a good kid and - due to my father's connection with his father - I had known him since he was born. He had grown up with Abby and they had always been pretty close friends. In the past few weeks, he had been round here frequently in order to seek comfort while mourning the loss of his father. I had an inkling of a feeling that his choice to come here for that comfort was motivated by an interest in my daughter, though he had never mentioned anything. Call it women's intuition on my part.

"How can I help you, kid?" I asked with a small smirk, even though I already knew the answer.

"Is Abby in?" He asked in a small, timid voice.

Before I could answer there was a swift knock at the door that signalled Edward's arrival.

I jumped and headed to the door as I replied to Seth, "Sorry, you just missed her."

"Oh." Was his reply. He sounded disappointed and I felt sorry for him. He was definitely smitten.

I told him to wait a minute as I answered the door.

As I expected, Edward stood there in all his glory smiling widely at me. His hair was damp from the rain and it made him look irresistible.

I stood aside to let him in as I grinned like an idiot.

I grabbed his hand and intertwined our fingers as I mouthed 'happy birthday' before putting a finger against his lip as a signal for him to keep quiet as I finished on the phone. He grinned and kissed it quickly as I bought the phone back to my ear.

"Still there?" I asked, never taking my eyes off Edward.

"Yep."

"Okay, did you want to try calling again tomorrow? It would probably be better." I suggested.

"All right." He said in a more cheerful tone, "Bye, Bella."

I chuckled, "Bye." and hung up the phone.

I set it down and Edward pulled me into his arms to kiss me.

I smiled and mumbled against his lips, "Having a good birthday?"

Our lips separated and he placed his forehead against mine and said in a husky voice, "I am now."

I rolled my eyes at him and gave him a chaste kiss before taking a step back. There was no way the day was ending without me giving myself to him now.

"Who was that on the phone?" Edward inquired curiously.

Without thinking I responded by telling him it was Seth with a shrug of my shoulders.

His eyebrows furrowed in confusion and I wondered for a split second if he had already forgotten who he was.

"Wait a minute, isn't he a kid? Why are you talking to him?"

_Shit._ Way to speak without thinking first, Bella.

What was I supposed to tell him now? I couldn't very well come out and say he was calling to talk to me. That would sound a little weird - me having a leisurely chat with a sixteen year old boy.

I had to admit, this would be the perfect opportunity to tell him about Abby. I may never get this kind of chance again. I mean he would find out eventually anyway. Just come out and say it.

Everyone would be happy that he knew, including me. It wasn't easy keeping it a secret and it would just generally be a relief. I'm sure he'd understand and wouldn't mind. Surely he'd be able to see why I didn't tell him. I just wanted to make sure we had a stable relationship before bringing in a third person. He was a nice guy, of course he'd understand.

But maybe, just maybe, it wouldn't be that easy.

He could react awfully to being told this.

Maybe he wanted nothing to do with children, and decide I wasn't worth it if I had one. If he didn't want the responsibility he didn't have to have it of course, it just depends how he saw it.

Maybe he'd get angry that I had kept this important piece of information from him for so long. That would be understandable, I don't think I'd be too happy with that either and I suddenly felt like a hypocrite.

Maybe, he'd be upset that I hadn't trusted him enough to tell him before. Upset that everyone else knew and no one had told him. Also understandable, it would definitely be a shock at least.

Maybe he'd be a mix of all and end up leaving me anyway. I don't know what I'd do if that happened. I wouldn't have a positive reaction, that's for sure.

_Shit, shit, shit, fuck. _I thought to myself.

He was stood before me with a raised eyebrow, staring intently waiting for my answer. He must have known there was something up considering I hadn't answered.

I was nervous as fuck. I had my lower lip caught between my teeth and I couldn't get my eyes to stay focused on anything in particular. My hands were sweating in anticipation and my mouth was dry.

I closed my eyes and tried hard to swallow before taking a deep breath in preparation for what I was about to say.

It was time to grow a pair.

I looked him in the eyes trying to communicate with him that way - add some emotions to the mix - I knew it was his weakness and I used it too my advantage.

"He wasn't calling for me," I admitted, my voice barely above a whisper, "he was calling to talk to my daughter," I paused and released a nervous laugh, "surprise…"

**Cliffy!... Sort of =]**


	8. Chapter 8 Brothers & Happy Bday!

Chapter 8 - Brotherly Advice and a Happy Birthday To Me

**Edward's POV**

"He wasn't calling for me, he was calling for my daughter," Bella said and my eyes widened, daughter? Ridiculous, Bella doesn't have a daughter… "Surprise."

I opened and closed my mouth repeatedly trying to say something - I probably looked like a goldfish - but I couldn't.

Did I actually here her right? I was waiting for her to laugh her ass off and say she was joking. She couldn't have a daughter; no one mentioned her, they _would_ have mentioned her, right? But she wasn't laughing and she didn't look as though this was something she would joke about. She was serious.

Yeah, you could say I was a bit fucking surprised.

Surely she would have told me by now. She's had far more than a month. What's it been now, seven weeks? Plenty of time to let that little fact be known.

Why didn't she tell me? She can't have thought that I'd mind her being a parent - that wouldn't have bothered me at all. It doesn't bother me now.

I had to speculate whether or not I would have known by the end of the day if I hadn't caught her on the phone to the Clearwater kid. I'd say probably not. I was glad I'd caught her though, considering this daughter a big part of Bella's life… that I knew nothing about.

I was actually pretty surprised that she didn't try to lie to me about who was on the phone, or why he was on the phone to him. Actually, now I think about it, that was probably because she'd know that I knew she was lying; she can't lie for shit.

God she knows how to make shit complicated.

Bella was biting her lower lip and looking up at me through her eyelashes. She was nervous and - though I wasn't surprised - I wished I could read her mind to find out exactly why. Maybe it was because she didn't really know how I felt about it yet or she was worried I'd throw a complete shit fit because she hadn't told me before.

I couldn't stay silent for much longer; it wasn't fair on her. No, she wasn't in the clear for keeping this from me, but she had just admitted a pretty big thing and me keeping quiet was probably doing nothing to help her imagination.

I didn't completely forgive her for not telling me of course, but I could hear her out, find out the explanation as to why she hadn't told me. I had been given much worse to handle before, Bella keeping her daughter a secret was a walk in the park compared to what Tanya put me through.

I pinched the bridge of my nose and for a second closed my eyes. My mind was full of questions and it was making my head ache.

I looked into her eyes - I couldn't help it - and I could almost see her remorse hidden in their depths. I figured she was going to wait for me to say something. I was thankful for that; I had a lot I wanted to voice with no clue what order to put it in.

I licked my lips and leaned my back against the hall wall with my arms crossed. I tried and - hopefully - succeeded to keep my expression composed. I needed to remember to stay calm.

I cleared my throat and in a soft voice asked the first question that came to mind, "Where is she now?"

"At a friends." She answered. Her voice was rough and cracking and could tell she was trying not to cry. It took all my strength to stay put instead of enveloping her in my arms to comfort her.

I nodded and asked another question to distract myself, "What's her name?"

"Abby." She said as she ran her hand through her hair.

I took a deep breath, "Does she know about me?" I could help the burning curiosity within me about the answer to that question. I don't know why. Maybe it's because if the answer was no, it would make me doubt how much she trusted us. Though if the answer was yes, it would make me doubt how much she trusted my feelings for her.

She looked down at her hands that were playing with the hem of her shirt and nodded. I'd say that was probably the answer I wanted to hear. I mean, if she had told her daughter about me, she must have wanted us to work out.

But why didn't she tell me_?_

I let out a deep breath I didn't realise I was holding, "What did you tell her about me?"

She blushed, "I told her everything."

I pursed my lips. I didn't mind she told her. I was glad she did actually, that she knew something about me. The fact remained though, that I knew nothing about her other than her name and the fact that Bella was her mother. This whole idea that Abby knew about me however just led me straight to the most important question I had: "Why didn't you tell _me _about her? Don't you trust me?"

Her head snapped up and I saw that her eyes were glazed over with tears that were threatening to pool over. I knew then that if she did cry, I wouldn't be able to hold myself back from her anymore.

"Please, Edward you have to understand," She paused, sniffling, "I wanted to tell you so much, I just never knew how. I do trust you, believe that, it's just, I've never got to the point where I've felt I could tell a boyfriend before now. Well, besides Emmett, but that was different," trust her to bring up the whole Emmett thing now, "I was worried about how you would react to her, and that you wouldn't want anything to do with me. I thought a whole load of things. Though I know now though that you'd have taken it better if I told you in the beginning. Basically, I was an idiot and I'm so sorry." she paused to take a deep breath, "You hate me now don't you." she whispered as she let the tears fall.

Nothing could have stopped me from doing what I did next anymore. In two small steps I was stood in front of her with no space between us and wrapped my arms around her. She clung to my shirt and soaked it with her tears but I didn't care.

I can't believe she thought I hated her - the very concept was inconceivable to me.

A large portion of my initial anger had lifted and I was able to see reason behind her words, though I wasn't exactly ecstatic about her keeping such things from me. I understood why maybe she didn't tell me right away. She was trying to protect her daughter, me, even herself, in case our relationship didn't last. She wanted to tell me at the right time when she would have hope that I would be okay with it - but where she got the impression I wouldn't be was beyond me. Don't get me wrong, I was definitely fine with my girlfriend having a daughter - curious about her too - but this has put a bit of a strain on my trust. Was there anything else she had kept from me?

It was becoming apparent that if I stayed the rest of the afternoon, it was just going to be awkward and I needed time to let this whole thing sink in. I supposed I could get someone to come round and keep her company and cheer her up. Alice and Rose perhaps.

I pressed my lips to the top of her head and pulled back from her a little, but kept my hands gripped loosely on her arms.

I took a deep breath and explained that I needed time to process everything and I promised to call her.

She scoffed as new tears fell, "Yeah, sure you will."

I needed her to believe me, so I placed my fingers under her chin and lifted her face so she was forced to look at me, "I promise I will, I-" I paused, I what? Like her? No, that's not strong enough. I love her? No, still a bit early for that. Care? Yeah, that's it, "I really care about you - too much so not to."

She seemed to believe I was sincere as she smiled a timid smile at me which I returned.

"I'll see you soon, Bella."

"Bye, Edward. Happy birthday."

I snorted and left her house, shutting the door behind me and climbed into my Volvo.

I needed to talk to someone, let everything out. My brothers seemed like a good option; they knew Bella, knew me better than anyone and could probably answer most of my unanswered questions. I text them both telling them to meet me at the Blue Raddle pub near Jasper's home in an hour.

I arrived ten minutes early and got a head start on the drinks, ordering three pints of Guinness and downing one for myself.

"Happy birthday, Eddie!" Emmett's voice projected through the pub and I turned to scowl at him at the use of his stupid nickname.

"Happy birthday, Edward." Jasper said as he and Emmett approached the table and took a seat.

"Thanks." I smiled half heartedly. I didn't have it in me to be over excited about my birthday. My mind was still in a complete mess.

Jasper - as always - seemed to be able to tell I wasn't in the best of moods and asked me what was wrong.

"Bella told me about Abby…" I trailed off.

My brothers looked at each other with huge shit eating grins and Emmett patted me hard on the back - which hurt like a bitch by the way - as though it was some sort of right of passage, "Well I have to admit it's about time. You don't seem too thrilled about it though."

"Well I don't have a problem, I just wish she'd told me." I sighed.

"Yeah well, it's not the easiest thing to come out and say I'm sure, and you know Bella. She's not one to take the easy road." Jasper commented with a shrug as he sipped at his beer.

I nodded in agreement but didn't add anything further. I didn't really know what to say now. That was the whole point in getting them to come here: getting their advice.

"Did you meet the squirt?" Emmett asked, "Really good kid, right Jazz?" he turned to our other brother who nodded with an almost proud smile on his face.

I shook my head 'no', "She wasn't there. To be honest, I just got the hell out before anything got too awkward."

At my statement, Jasper's eyes widened significantly and Emmett crossed his arms and glared at me and warned, "You better not have dumped Bells over this, because if you did-" I cut him off there, he knew I wasn't that shallow.

"Who do you think I am, Emmett?" I almost growled, "I would never break up with her just because she had a child."

"He's right, Em," Jasper said, "but if you two didn't break up then why are you here?"

I ran my hand through my hair, messing it up even more than it already was. Both of them sat with their eyes on me waiting for me to figure out why I was here. I wasn't so sure why anymore.

I decided to ignore his question and ask one of my own. I licked my lips, "What's she like? Abby, I mean."

Emmett was literally bouncing in his seat in excitement. She must be a hell of a kid. Jasper was laughing at his exhilaration and Emmett stopped, clearly embarrassed that he himself had acted like such a child.

"You know, she's more mature than Emmett, that's a start." Jasper said and reached over in an attempt to ruffle Emmett's hair, though he didn't quite make it close enough as Emmett's massive hand stopped it with his strength.

My oldest brother glared at Jasper and turned to face me, "Jasper may have a point." he laughed, "But she's a lot of fun, really into video games and sports. Has a hell of a sense of humour too, not afraid to speak her mind. She's like my niece, may as well be anyway."

"Gotta say the same," Jasper added, "she's intelligent and gets on with pretty much everyone. You'd love her."

I couldn't help but smile at this description. I wanted to meet this child that my brothers seemed to love so much. I wanted to know how much like Bella she was, how good a relationship she and Bella had - though I could only assume it was a good one. I wondered whether I would be able to form a bond too.

"She sure sounds great," I crossed my arms on the table, "do her and Bella look alike."

Both of them burst out laughing and I furrowed my eyebrows, highly confused as to what was so funny.

"Seriously? They're the spitting image! Same hair, same eyes, same fucking nose and everything. Not many differences, but I'm sure you'll see that when you meet her." Emmett answered.

I was in awe of my brothers. Neither of them had children yet, but they were able to form such a strong bond with a child they have no relation to. Even Emmett who dated Bella briefly seemed to get on well with her, which gave me some hope.

I eyed Emmett curiously trying to imagine how he did it and enquired, "So, Abby didn't mind that you were going out with Bella then?"

Emmett shook his head, "Nah, she was actually pretty cool about it. We just got on, to be honest, I don't think she's that bothered. She wants to meet you, y'know?"

"Really?" I said grinning like a fool, to which he nodded.

"Now, are you gonna go tell Bella you're an idiot for leaving or what?" Jasper intervened.

I hunched my shoulders and looked down at the table, "I don't know, she was really upset when I left. Wouldn't she just kick me out?"

One of them kicked my shin under the table and I winced.

"Don't be such a douche, Eddie," I scowled, "and shut the fuck up, when you're being an idiot, I can call you Eddie or Edwardo or any stupid name I want. She won't kick you out, she'll want to talk to you, be reassured or something. I swear you're supposed to be the smart one here!" he rolled his eyes.

"Hey!" Jasper half-yelled offended, "I'm smart!"

"Yeah okay well just because some idiot let you input crap about stuff that happened in the past into kids heads, doesn't make you a genius. It means you read the shit they give you."

Jasper sighed, "Well that doesn't matter. Look, Edward, do you feel differently about Bella because of this?"

"No, not at all."

"You want to meet Abby right?"

"Yes."

He leaned forward, "You want to get on with her and get to know her?" I nodded.

"Good," he continued, "well get the hell down there and apologise for leaving when she was in the state you left her in."

"Well, the thing is, I kind of suggested Alice and Rose go down there. I don't want to turn up if they're still there…" I trailed off, it was a poor excuse but I was a coward.

Both of them sighed, "I'll phone Alice, see if they're gone." Jasper said as he got up and headed into a quiet corner and pulled out his phone.

"Do me a favour, Edward? When you meet Abby, tell her that it's time her and I had a rematch. She'll know what you mean." Emmett said.

"Okay…" I said unsure. It was probably best I didn't ask anyway.

Jasper returned to the table, "They're there right now, but Abby will be home in about

half an hour so they'll leave then." he paused noticing my hesitation, "You probably won't see her, she'll probably have someone round or be hiding out in her room. Don't worry about it. You'll be able to talk to Bells privately."

I nodded and we left after paying for our drinks. We said our goodbyes and I promised to phone and let them know how it went.

I got back into my car and started the engine. I had a long time to think about what I was going to say or do. I needed to apologise for my behaviour. Emmett and Jasper had allowed me to see things from a different perspective and they were right. Bella not telling me changed nothing, she had a perfectly valid reason, and at least I knew about it now.

I pulled up outside Bella's house and parked in the drive. As I looked up at the house, I tightened my grip on the steering wheel and took a deep breath. I looked at my watch, it had taken me forty minutes to get here; I had driven purposely slowly. Well… okay I had actually driven within the speed limits for once anyway.

I walked up to the front door and knocked roughly. Bella answered the door in an old shirt and sweats with her hair tied up in a ponytail showing off her beautiful face, which was looking surprised to see me.

"Is Abby here?" I asked.

She frowned and furrowed her eyebrows, "Yeah… she's in the shower. Look, Edward…"

I cut her off and smiled, "Bella, I'm sorry for how I acted earlier. I was an ass. Forgive me, please? I want to meet Abby…" I paused thinking, "maybe not now, if it's a bad time, but I want to. Soon."


	9. Chapter 9 I Don't Mean To Pry

Chapter 9 - I don't mean to pry but…

**Bella's POV**

He wanted to meet Abby?

He actually didn't hate me! He wanted to stay with me and meet my daughter. I couldn't keep the massive grin off my face as I launched myself at him, causing him to laugh. I wrapped my arms around his neck and he held me to him tightly.

He kissed my hair and set me back down on my feet after a minute or two and smiled down at me.

I figured now would be the best time to say something, "You really want to meet her?" he nodded and I beamed at him, "Okay, well yeah now probably wouldn't work, she'd be so pissed if I made you meet each other now without any warning. Want to come to dinner, say Thursday? Gives you both time to prepare or whatever..." I offered.

"Yeah, whenever, just as long as I get to meet her. I've had Emmett and Jasper telling me how amazing she is," He laughed, "I can't wait to meet her. It sounds stupid but she's a part of you, and I want to know everything there is to know about you." he admitted as he brushed a strand of hair that had fallen out of my ponytail behind my ear.

I blushed, "Wow. Okay, well if you want to come at around seven then. She's been waiting to meet you…" I trailed off feeling guilty again for not telling him about her sooner.

I looked down at the floor and he placed his hand on the side of my face, stroking my cheek with his thumb, "It's okay, Bella," he soothed, "look at me," and I did, "it's fine. I know now, it doesn't matter. I'm sorry I took off earlier." he looked sincere, but really he had nothing to be sorry about.

"It's okay. I'm sorry I didn't tell you before."

He pulled me into a hug and looked at his watch before deciding he should probably get home.

I squeezed him tighter just wanting to hold him for a little longer. He placed his hand under my chin and pulled my face up and bought his down to be at the same height. He pressed his lips to mine softly for a couple of seconds then placed a quick kiss to my nose and turned to leave.

I watched him drive off and away from my home, sighed and headed back inside.

I sat down on the recliner in the sitting room after picking up my slightly battered copy of _Pride and Prejudice_, wanting to soak up some quality time with Mr Darcy.

I had managed to work my way through the first couple of chapters when I heard movement from upstairs. I looked upwards as I heard the creak of the floorboards coming from her bedroom above my head before returning my eyes to my book.

A few minutes later, Abby clambered down the stairs in the boy shorts and tank top she normally wore to bed. Her hair was wet and hung down over her top, making all the places it touched damp. She held her phone tightly as her fingers pressed furiously on the keypad. Her eyebrows were furrowed and her tongue stuck out of her mouth in concentration.

"Texting anyone interesting?" I asked

"Huh?" She said, not taking her eyes off the screen, "Oh, just Katie," she answered sounding bored.

"You want to sit down?" I offered.

Without answering or looking she moved towards the sofa, trying - and failing - to sit down gracefully. Instead, she ended up being about a mile out and she fell down with a small 'thud' as her ass hit the floor.

She groaned and stood up, blushing as she rubbed her behind in an attempt to ease the pain there.

I laughed loudly and she glared at me before sitting back on the sofa.

The room then fell silent as she shifted her gaze back to the phone in her hand. I pursed my lips trying to suss out if this was the best time to talk to her about Chris and let her know that she could finally meet Edward.

I decided it was as I couldn't keep putting it off, though felt it would be better to bring up the Edward situation first; it was just the easier topic.

"Can you put your phone away for a second? I want to talk to you." I started.

Her eyes landed on mine for a second before turning back to her phone. She sighed and shoved it down roughly on the coffee table. She shifted where she sat, folding her legs under her body and turned to face me. She crossed her arms and waited for me to continue.

I took a deep breath, "Well, I guess I should let you know that I told Edward about you today. He wants to meet you and he's coming to dinner on Thursday."

She grinned at me, "It's about time! Oh my God, I really can't wait to meet him. I bet he's really nice. Ooh is he as hot as he looks in his pictures?" she gushed.

I laughed, "He is very nice, you'll love him." I paused, "Oh, those pictures don't do him justice." I answered honestly.

"Yum!" She commented as she licked her lips.

I rolled my eyes, "He's too old for you, young lady." I mock scolded.

She chortled, "Don't worry, I'll just admire your boyfriend from afar." she teased, "Anyway, I have Chris…" she added.

I now had the perfect opening for the second half of our little talk. I knew it would affect the tone of the conversation, but this was something that needed to be discussed. I would handle this well.

"Well actually, speaking of Chris," I started, holding back the 'and people who are too old for you' that I wanted to include, "he seems like a very nice young man. Very polite and he obviously cares about you a great deal. The thing is-" she cut me off.

"_Please_ do not say you're going to go all Spanish Inquisition on my ass!"

"No," I said with a deep breath and limited patience. This always happened when I wanted to talk to her seriously: she would interrupt me before I got to the point and I would start to feel pissed off while pretending to be calm, "I just have a few queries."

She nodded so I continued, "How old is he exactly?"

She threw her head back and huffed in irritation, "How did I know you'd ask? What does it matter anyway?" she took a deep breath, "Tell you what, why don't you wait and I'll gather you, Dad, Emmett, Grandpa Charlie and Grandpa Billy together so I don't have to go through this whole thing a million times."

It was true, all those people were going to ask questions. However, Emmett would be the worst, and she knew it, so she should be thankful it was just me for now. "Abby," I warned, "will you just answer the question."

"Sorry." she sighed, "He's eighteen."

I had suspected that he was probably around that age, but I still didn't like it all that much.

I reached back and tightened my ponytail, "I realise that there's nothing I can do - it's your choice - but I don't like the age gap."

"It's only two years." She countered.

"Yes I know, but you're both still so young. He is generally considered a man and I just don't want you to get hurt."

She swung her head round quickly to look at me, "I can take care of myself."

I knew she could, of course but there are certain things that one can't protect themselves from. I leaned back in my chair and asked, "How did you meet him?"

"Does it matter?"

"Yes."

She pursed her lips before answering, "You remember a couple of months ago for my birthday, Amie took me to that gig? The one with those newcomer bands, in Seattle?" I nodded, not liking where this was going; all sorts of people turned up at these things. She shrugged, "Well, he was there."

"What so you just happened to be stood near each other and happened to talk to each other and happened to both be interested?" I asked with one raised eyebrow.

"That doesn't matter." She pointed out.

I thought what she said over, but I was too nosy to let it drop, "Humour me."

She rolled her eyes, "Fine. Amie wanted to get to the front of the crowd to get a better look at this drummer in one of the bands. Anyway, she basically stormed through the place and most people just moved out the way, but he didn't. She ended up shoving him to the side - she's really strong - and I turned to apologise on her behalf. He just smiled and said it was fine and I went to find Amie again.

"The thing was I couldn't get his smile out my head - sorry, but his smile just makes me swoon. I kept looking behind me, trying to get a glimpse of him all night. Amie was getting annoyed and dragged me back to find him." She looked at her hands and laughed, "She grabbed his shirt and he was speechless. She told him that I was interested and snatched our phones, putting my number in his and vice versa. End of story."

The corner of my mouth went up, Amie had been like a second daughter to me for over ten years and her and Abby were inseparable. This sounded very much like the kind of situation they would get themselves into.

"Is he from Seattle then?" I asked, inquisitively.

"Yep."

I bit my lower lip, "Okay… so he drives down here?"

"Yeah usually. Katie has taken me up a couple of times, just 'cause she has her license."

I nodded slowly and looked downwards. I was trying to take this little load of information in. My sixteen year old daughter was with an eighteen year old boy who lives in Seattle that she met at a gig. These seemed to be the only negatives so far though. I got a very good first impression earlier and Abby likes him, so he can't be that bad.

There was one question aching at the back of my mind to come out. One I knew someone would ask at some point anyway and - though perhaps it was inappropriate for me to be the one to ask - I couldn't get it to go away, "Does he - did he - at the beginning, did he ever… pressure you? For sex I mean." I asked awkwardly.

She shot me a disgusted look from where she sat, "No! Course he didn't. I wouldn't be with him if he did."

I put my hands up in surrender, "Sorry. That was a very Emmett style question wasn't it?" I usually didn't even consider going there and this would be considered odd behaviour on my part in her eyes.

She snorted and nodded.

"Okay." I said feeling embarrassed, "So he goes to college?"

She licked her lips, "Well, no. He did have a job… but he quit." She paused, obviously sensing my distaste, "It was for the best, really. It was a crap job." she laughed but she sounded nervous.

"What did he do?" I asked with narrowed eyes.

She cleared her throat, "Nothing interesting," she paused briefly, "worked in a shop. His boss was awful though."

I continued to look at her through narrowed eyes and she began biting her fingernails. She seemed embarrassed by his job, though I couldn't see why she should be.

After several minutes she got up and grabbed her phone, "Anyway, think I might head upstairs. Homework and stuff, you know. 'Night." she said.

"Okay," I said slowly, "'Night." I answered.

--------------------------------------------

The next few days flew by fast and before I knew it, it was Thursday and Edward and Abby were finally going to meet.

I had talked to Alice and Rose about it several times, worrying something would go wrong. They had both assured me that everything would be okay and that I should stop worrying.

I made their words my knew mantra that I played over and over again in my head.

The issue of Chris wasn't mentioned again between Abby and I since the day that I had met him. She was happy, so I was happy too. Rose had informed me, however that since I mentioned him being slightly older, Emmett had become irritated and had come up with his own line of questioning for her. It wasn't going to be pretty.

Rather her than me, I thought.

Edward would be here in around two hours and I had just started preparing the meal.

I wanted to make something from scratch, but wasn't sure what I would be able to prepare that would be a little challenging whilst being suitable for Edward's vegetarian diet. Abby had suggested a vegetarian cannelloni - an Italian pasta dish which I had never heard of.

In the end, she went out and bought all the ingredients and wrote down instructions on how to prepare it.

Now, usually I would consider myself a pretty good cook, but it was fucking complicated.

After several failed attempts, I had grasped the basics of it and was relatively happy with the outcome, knowing that the food at least wouldn't be a complete disaster for this evening.

At seven - as agreed - there was a knock on the door. Edward was here.

I went to remove the apron I had put on earlier so I could answer it, but stopped in my tracks when I heard Abby moving to answer it instead and I smiled.

She peered into the kitchen smiling widely. "I'll get it."

**And next, they finally meet!  
****Okay, anyone who has ANY questions regarding Abby and Chris' relationship, feel free to ask.  
****Emmett will be having words soon, and I can make sure he includes any of your queries =]**


	10. Chapter 10 And Now We Meet

**Important stuff... I'm off on holiday Saturday and this is the last chance I have to update for a couple weeks  
But, for now on with the story and the moment we've been waiting for.. =]**

Chapter 10 - And now we meet

**Edward's POV**

I had spent the best part of Thursday talking to Emmett, Jasper, even my father about what to expect and what to do when I met Abby.

What I got from it was that I should try to act as a friend instead of a possible father figure. Apparently if I didn't she might take it that I was trying to replace her dad. I didn't know fully how to communicate with a child - I hadn't had much contact with them - but as long I was friendly and followed their advice, I figured I'd be fine.

I was looking in the mirror at myself, talking to my reflection in an attempt to calm myself. I looked at my messy hair that hadn't seen a brush or comb in a very long time. I had to admit, it looked good on me, but had to wonder if this child would care if I allowed my hair to become as unkempt as it is. I guessed not, she probably wouldn't be old enough to have any interest anyway.

I took a deep breath and walked to my car, getting in and making the short drive to Bella's house. I let my mind wander to how Abby and I would be introduced. Hopefully it wouldn't be too awkward for either of us.

At just before 7pm, I pulled up outside the house. I kept a tight grip on the steering wheel as I looked up at the home Bella and Abby shared.

It was definitely an understatement to say that I was shocked when Bella told me about her daughter. I mean, she definitely didn't look like she'd ever been pregnant for a start; her figure was amazing.

I was just glad that she'd told me everything, albeit a little later than I would have hoped, but she told me none the less.

I was ready for this, I convinced myself.

Okay, actually there was a chance that I was completely shitting myself. I knew she was just a little girl, and that I really shouldn't feel intimidated but something was making me feel tense anyway.

I'd just have to hope that she liked me. I would give her every damn reason to.

I stepped out my car and headed nervously to Bella's front door and knocked loudly.

My hands were sweating like mad and just as I was contemplating wiping them off on my jeans, the front door swung open and my eyes popped out of their sockets.

There was a young woman stood in the doorway who definitely wasn't Bella, so I could only assume was her daughter. She was the spitting image of her - just like my brothers had said - she had her hair and eyes and the same rosy red blush on her cheeks. The only real difference would be her height, she definitely had a few inches on her mother.

My shock and nervous levels had hit the fucking roof. I was expecting her to be ten years old at the most. How wrong I was. She was probably in her mid-teens from what I could tell.

She had a small, polite smile on her face. I assumed this meant that she at least didn't have a problem with Bella being involved with another man. A somewhat good start.

"Hey, Edward." she said cheerfully.

Unsure what else to do, I returned the smile and replied "Yeah, hi. You must be Abby."

She stood there staring at me open mouthed, making me a little uncomfortable as she nodded.

She muttered something that sounded like "holy shit" before composing herself and inviting me inside.

I stepped inside the house and I took off my jacket. We stood there in the hall just looking at each other, unsure of what else to do. Eventually, Abby headed into the kitchen and I followed her lead.

I noticed Bella was stood in front of the stove working away with the food. Just seeing her like this made me want to throw my self control right out the window. I walked up behind her, wrapped my arms around her waist then kissed her cheek softly.

"What's for dinner then beautiful?" I whispered in her ear and gazed over at the food in front of us but not before noticing her face turn that magnificent shade of red.

"I'm trying my hand at Cannelloni. Just a warning though, I haven't made this one before, but I wanted to try something new. Had to get Abby to explain it all to me." she smiled. I wasn't worried, Bella was an amazing cook anyway so what would be the difference now?

I couldn't resist the teasing though, "It better not taste like crap Swan, or you will have some serious explaining to do."

She smirked and I grinned before burying my face in her neck and kissing and sucking on her pulse point. I tightened my grip on her as I kissed her and she let out a soft moan in pleasure causing me to smile against her skin.

The next thing I knew, we were jumping apart at the sound of someone clearing their throat behind us.

Shit. I'd forgotten about Abby.

"So yeah, as fun as this is for me, I think I might gag if I have see anymore of this." she turned on her heel and bounded up the stairs then shouted down to us "Please remember I'm upstairs, so I can hear anything you may do. I'm also hungry and a meal that's not burnt would be great. Thanks."

A couple of seconds later a door was slammed shut and there was a slightly uncomfortable silence. I guess Bella didn't mind her daughter sort of joking about our sex lives. Not that we actually had one. Yet.

I took the opportunity to ease some of my curiosity, "So, how old is she anyway? I wasn't expecting her to have hit puberty yet to be honest."

"Oh. Well she's sixteen. I was quite young when I had her…" she trailed off. That would have made her around 19 when she had her if I worked it out right. She was blushing again, like she often did - not that I was complaining. It made her look even more stunning than she usually did, which is why I did what I did next.

I turned her so she was facing me and moved her over so her back was leaning against the counter. I lowered my face so that our eyes were level and the tips of our noses were touching. I held her eyes' attention with mine and whispered "Do you know how breath-taking you look when you blush?"

She shook her head, causing me to smile. I placed my hands on her hips and pulled her close enough that our bodies were tightly pressed against each other. I pressed my lips firmly against hers. My hands began to rub up and down her sides moving from her hips to graze the sides of her breasts and repeating the action as her hands began to twist themselves in to my already messy hair.

As our lips moved together, she began to pull softly at my hair, causing my lips to part automatically and hers followed my lead. I took this chance to place my tongue in her mouth, only to be met by hers and our tongues fought for dominance.

When we eventually broke apart I rested my forehead against hers as we evened out our breath.

The timer on the oven went off and we both broke out into laughter, knowing we had both forgotten the food, mere inches away from us.

She called Abby down for dinner and I offered to serve it up for her, after practically having to force her to sit down at the dining room table.

After looking through the kitchen I managed to locate the plates and cutlery and was able to serve the three dishes evenly. I carried all the plates through in one go and placed them down in front of the two of them.

I sat down in the seat beside Bella which was opposite where Abby had sat. She looked up at me from her plate and smiled shyly.

I looked at Bella, who's eyes were looking back a forth between Abby and I, probably waiting for some kind of real interaction.

I cleared my throat and looked at the teenager, "So, Abby. My brother tells me you owe him a rematch of some sort." I grinned.

She smirked and shook her head, "Emmett?" she asked and I nodded. "He really doesn't like losing does he?"

I shook my head 'no' and took a bite of the cannelloni - which was delicious as to be expected - and placed my hands on the table. "You know, if you just let him win, he'd probably leave it alone."

"Oh, no I don't mind, I like doing it, it's fun." She countered, "Besides, Em's funny when he loses, he acts like such a kid, it's kinda cute." she shrugged.

For a second, my eyebrows furrowed. What exactly were they doing together that they both enjoyed so much? I also found it slightly strange to hear someone as young as her refer to someone acting like a child, when she basically is one anyway.

"What is it you and Emmett… do?" I asked as I ran my hand through my untamed hair.

Abby's eyes followed the path of my hand with wide eyes as she bit down on her lower lip. I'm pretty sure I blushed and turned to see what Bella made of her actions. She had raised one eyebrow at her and was obviously trying not to laugh.

"Abby?" She spoke after she didn't answer me, "Are you going to answer or are you just going to sit and gawk at my boyfriend?" Bella asked.

Abby jumped slightly and lowered her head so her hair covered a large portion of her face. She looked at her mother from under her eyelashes and stuck her tongue out before turning her gaze to me and smiling apologetically, "Sorry. It's just that, well, you know…" she said awkwardly, "your hair is really… um… nice." I smiled and she blushed, "But anyway, Em lets me play his x box and some how I got good enough to beat him."

I chuckled, "Well, thank you for the compliment." I paused, "What else do you like to do?" I asked curiously and I felt Bella's hand grasp my own and squeeze. I smiled at her reassuringly and intertwined our fingers leaving us both eating with just one hand.

Abby took a few more mouthfuls of food before resting her forearms on the table and responding, "Well… the usual, hanging out with friends, listening to music, watching films, going shopping." she licked her lips. "I also like playing basketball or um… don't mind acting, like doing plays and stuff like that and I cook quite a lot. Stuff that's relaxing… if you get me?"

I nodded and smiled. I could see why my brothers were so fond of her; she was both mature and immature, curious and rather fascinating. She seemed shy but if what I had heard gave any hint,. she easily opened up once you go to know her. She wasn't what I would call a stereotypical teenager in the sense that she didn't seem obsessed with partying and all those sorts of things - though I'm sure she did from time to time - and she got on closely with both her peers and people who were older than her with ease.

"Abby?" Bella spoke up from beside me, and both of us turned to look at her.

The two of them made eye contact and I found myself looking between the two of them. They were having some sort of silent conversation, yet understanding exactly what the other was trying to say. Bella first raised her eyebrows at Abby, who in turn furrowed hers. Bella then sighed and tilted her head towards me slightly. Abby looked at me for a few seconds before her eyes widened and she shook her head. Bella now tilted her head towards her daughter and they were staring each other down. It was actually pretty comical to watch, but at the same time showed - in my eyes at least - that they had a relatively close relationship.

I managed to hold back my laugh and Abby looked down at her lap as she bit her nails.

Bella sighed and turned to me, "Since she wont as-"

"Fine, I'll ask him!" Abby said in a raised voice cutting her off. My eyes flitted once again between the two of them and waited for her to continue. "Okay," she huffed, "it's no big deal but... when I was little, I really wanted to learn to play piano but I never actually did. Mum mentioned you played and we thought maybe - if you want - you could teach me?" she blushed.

I stared at her wide eyed. I wanted to jump up and down yelling in success that I had gained some kind of acceptance from this girl. I wanted to kiss Bella senseless for mentioning this little fact to her. It might have been a slight over-reaction, but if she hadn't liked me there would have been an impact in mine and Bella's relationship, and not a good one.

She took my stunned silence the wrong way and stuttered, "No, um, it's okay, really. You don't have to it's just well - don't worry about it any way, I totally get if you don't want to."

"No, no!" I argued, "Of course I'll teach you to play."

"Really?" She asked doubtfully and I nodded. She smiled widely, "Thank you."

Bella laughed, "I told you he wouldn't mind, didn't I?"

Abby rolled her eyes and stood up, taking out the empty plates and glasses to the kitchen.

I took in a deep breath and exhaled loudly in relief. Bella turned to look at me smiling and leaned forward to kiss my cheek.

"Soo...?" She asked.

"What?"

She giggled, "What do you think?"

I smiled and poked her nose, "I think she seems like a great kid. I was a bit worried she was going to be all moody and hate me, but that went a lot better than I could have hoped." I paused, "She looks a lot like you too."

She rested her elbow on the table and leaned her cheek in the palm of her hand grinning, "Yeah I know. I knew you'd get on, just don't let her hear you calling her 'kid' - she hates it."

"I'll keep that in mind." I said, nodding.

We sat there in silence for a minute, just looking at each other before we were broken out of our reverie by something smashing and a loud "Fuck" coming from the kitchen.

Bella jumped up and ran to see what happened and I followed slowly behind her.

Abby stood in the middle of the room with a smash plate scattered infront of her. She was gritting her teeth and her hands were pulled into fists at her sides. She was scowling down at the broken dish muttering obscenities under her breath. Bella cleared her throat and the teenager looked up at the two of us.

"What happened?" Bella asked calmly.

Abby groaned, "I was doing the dishes and my fucking phone went off, made me jump and I dropped it."

Bella placed her hands on her hips, "First, watch your language." Abby rolled her eyes, but Bella ignored it, "Don't worry about this," she said poining down to the floor, "I'll sort it out."

Abby bit her lip and nodded. "Sorry." She said and walked out the room.

I chuckled and wrapped my arms around Bella's waist, resting my chin on her shoulder, "I should probably get going then." I stated.

Bella sighed and leaned her head back, "Yeah I guess so. Sorry 'bout that."

"Don't worry." I said and turned her round to face me. I pressed a quick, chaste kiss on her lips and pulled her tightly against me, "I'll see myself out so you can get on with... well this. Thanks for having me over today, it was nice meeting Abby. If she's still downstairs I'll say a quick goodbye to her as well."

"Don't mention it." She replied and I could hear the smile in her voice, "I'll call you tomorrow."

I kissed the top of her head and released her, "Okay, talk to you then, bye Bella."

"Bye Edward."

I walked into the hallway and peeked my head into the sitting room. I saw Abby sprawled out on the sofa holding the remote to the television, flicking through the channels absentmindedly.

"Um..." I started, letting her know I was there, "I'm heading off, we'll have to sort out a day to start those piano lessons." I offered.

She looked at me and smiled shyly, "Okay, thanks for agreeing to it. See you 'round"

I nodded and headed out the house back to my car. I sat in the drivers seat and ran my hand through my hair, smiling simply because I had been able to impress the kid.

And happy I'd decided not to do anything to my messy hair.


	11. Chapter 11 Just A Bit Friggin' Awkward

**So I'm back! Thanks everyone who reviewed, I would reply to all reviews individually but I thought I should focus on trying to update as soon as possible.  
I'd also like to apologise for Edward's behaviour at the end of the last chapter, a couple of people mentioned it and I don't know what happened there, but I'll try my best not to let it happen again. We all make mistakes, and that happened to be one of mine.  
Um also, this is a bit of a filler and not my best work at all so sorry about that too. Though there is some stuff with Emmett having no shame which is always fun! I just want to get to chapter 12 as soon as I can because... well you'll see =]  
Anyway enough ramblings... here we have:**

Chapter 11 - Just a bit friggin' awkward

**Bella's POV**

"So you finally set a date then?" I asked excitedly.

"Yep." She answered simply, though I could detect the excitement easily in her voice, "We want it to be soon since we've been engaged for so long now. So I suggest leaving August 25th free. I can't believe I'm finally going to become Mrs Cullen!" Rose squealed down the phone.

I smiled, excited for her and Emmett, and asked, realissing she only had just under a month and a half to get everything sorted, "Have you told Alice yet? She's going to want to take over." I laughed.

"Yes, I have. She's already decided she's going to take over planning almost everything. It's a bit of a relief actually."

"She did the same with my wedding." I replied, "But actually, I was so glad she did; it was perfect." I smiled.

"I'll bet. I'm happy for her to, just as long as she doesn't go too over the top like at her wedding, do you remember?"

I grinned as I remembered Alice's wedding day. Her and Jasper married almost two years ago. Alice's dress was specially made from her own design and cost her thousands of dollars. Mine and Rose's bridesmaids dresses were designer, too. The number of guests was almost ridiculous, though somehow the newlyweds had been able to converse with all of them. I recalled the doves and the napkins folded into swans. There would have been an ice sculpture, but Jasper had managed to reign her in before she got to it. As over the top as it was though, it fit the both of them somehow and was beautiful.

"Yeah, I remember. Don't worry, she'll make sure whatever she does do fits you." I reassured her.

"I know." She sighed, "Well, I better get going, relatives to phone and all that stuff." she paused and I could hear the muffled voice of Emmett over the phone before Rosalie spoke again, "Em wants to talk to you." the smile in her voice still evident.

"Okay." I said. There was rustling at the other end as the phone was passed from Rose to Emmett.

"Bellarina!" Emmett shouted down the phone, I winced as the sound stung my ears.

"Are you trying to damage my ears?"

"Sorry, Bells."

I smiled, "No worries. Congratulations, Emmett, I'm happy for you." I said sincerely.

"Thanks. I'm so friggin' excited I could explode." He replied, in his usual Emmett manner.

"I had the feeling you might be. You have to promise me a dance on the night though." I stated as I saw Abby pop her head round the door, looking clearly confused.

"'Course!" He paused, "OH!" he said remembering something, "Did Rose ask you? Probably not, anyway, you and squirt need to come over soon- and by soon, I mean tomorrow. Small celebration thing for us and I still haven't found anything out about this Chris dick. Rose will want to discuss wedding stuff too."

I rolled my eyes, "Sure we'll be there. I can't wait to hear that conversation, but he's not much of a dick really."

He huffed, "He's using his dick against her. He's a big ass dick."

I laughed at his comment and then sighed, not bothering to argue with him, "Okay, okay. Just tell me what time to come you big doofus."

"Umm... I suppose six?" He suggested.

I agreed and we said our goodbyes.

"What was that all about?" Abby asked.

I explained what was happening: with the wedding, dinner tomorrow and Emmett's mission to find out about Chris.

Abby smiled, "It's good they're finally getting married." She paused, "Anyway I was gonna ask you if it was okay for me to go to the Clearwater's for dinner? Seth asked me to go."

I smiled remembering Seth's little crush on her and nodded for her to go and she left swiftly, not wasting any time about it.

An hour later, Edward arrived at my doorstep and I flung myself at him, grateful for his presence. Only a very small part of that due to my boredom.

"You're in a good mood." He said, grinning.

"I am now." I answered honestly. The sound of his voice alone made me happy. Ecstatic even.

He squeezed me tightly, "Good. Now, I actually came here for a reason." he said happily.

"Go on…" I said warily.

"Well first, I want to apologise because, 1) I haven't been able to talk to you since Thursday 'cause I've been working so much," we had a deal that every night we would spend at least half an hour on the phone if we hadn't seen each other that day, which was why - I assumed - he found it important to say sorry for, "and 2) Because I just sorta... took off Thursday. I'm sorry."

I chuckled, trust Edward to feel bad about the stuff that doesn't even matter, "No big deal, really, don't feel bad." I shrugged. The thought hadn't even occurred to me until now anyway.

He was silent for a minute and he pressed his face into my hair. I tightened my grip on his waist and he began to twist my brown locks around his fingers.

"Okay," He spoke softly into my hair, it was a pleasant feeling, "Well also, I wanted to ask you if you wouldn't mind coming to dinner at my parent's house next weekend. They're having a meal for - as I expect you've heard - Rose and Emmett's wedding date being set. Jazz and Alice will be there too and I thought, maybe you would come with me. I don't really like the idea of being the seventh wheel again."

I felt slightly intimidated by the idea of meeting Edward's parents. Would they like me? They'd probably see I was unworthy of their youngest son, see how many flaws I had when he was almost perfect. I wondered briefly if they knew that I had also been with Emmett for a short amount of time.

Edward noticed my slight hesitation and before I could agree he was talking fast, assuring me I didn't have to come if I'd rather not.

To shut him up I gave him a chaste kiss… and another.

"Of course I'll come you silly man. I'm just worried your parents wont like me." I confessed, looking down.

He lifted my face to bring my eyes up to look into his. He kissed my nose and smiled, "Of course they'll like you, you silly woman. More than that, they'll love you. Almost as much as I-" he paused brielfy, looking deep into my eyes, as if trying to determine my thoughts, "Almost as much as-" I cut him off once again by pressing my lips, hard and firm against his sweet tasting ones. I was pretty sure of what he was about to say, and I knew that - if he was actualy going to say _it_ - I definately wasn't ready to hear it.

He was most likely not really ready to say it either.

So we were just stood there in my hallway, kissing each other with open mouths, our hands grasping at each other frantically as our needs for each other grew steadily and became almost overpowering.

I'm not really sure how it happened, but the next thing I knew, we were on my sofa, rolling around, touching and kissing each other wherever we could reach. His lips were on mine, mouths open, tongues colliding, his sweet taste making me weak. His hands roamed up my shirt, massaging my breasts under my bra. I had already removed his shirt and my hands were trailing his muscles on his back and arms. His hardness was pressed against my stomach and my panties were soaked through. I hadn't felt like such a horny teenager in my life, not even when I was one.

He moved his hand down, unbuttoning my jeans and pulling them down my legs, massaging my thighs and calves as he removed them, then repeating the actions as his hands trailed back up. He placed a finger inside my panties and rubbed against my entrance.

"God, you're so wet for me." He whispered, almost sounding surprised as he pushed his finger inside me, briefly pumping in and out before adding a second.

I arched my back and lifted my hips slightly as I moaned his name. He could do miracles with his fingers, I wasn't going to last long.

He added a third finger and pumped furiously, and I felt a familiar tightening in my stomach. The tips of his fingers curled, allowing him to reach my g spot while his thumb rubbed my clit.

I screamed as I came and even once I had finished my orgasm, he still pumped his fingers - though more gently - inside me.

He brought his face back up to mine and kissed me softly on the lips before he pulled back and removed his fingers, making me feel empty. He put them to his mouth and sucked on them, humming as he tasted me.

"You're so fucking-" he was cut off.

"Oh, gross. I can't believe I just walked in on that! I'm going to need therapy, I'm scarred for life. Shit, Mum, get a room." Abby said disgustedly before backing away and running up the stairs, shaking her head.

My eyes widened in shock. I'd never been so horrified in my life, and clearly - by the look on his face - Edward felt the same. He had just been cock blocked by a sixteen year old. Who happened to be the daughter of the woman he was touching up. Oh and the woman who happened to be me.

I had been too careless, knowing she was coming home at anytime, fooling around with Edward downstairs where she would easily walk in, and did.

I sat up quickly and pulled up my jeans as Edward scrambled to find his shirt and pulled it over his head.

"I'm so sorry. Oh my God that was mortifying. Fuck, fuck, fuck. Well I can throw her acceptance out the window." Edward complained, groaning.

I ran my hand through his surprisingly soft, bronze hair, "No, don't worry she'll be pissed with me, if she's pissed at anyone. She's probably also a lot more mortified than you, or even me."

He sighed, "Still. Do you think I should apologise or something?"

"No, not now anyway. Don't worry about it."

"Well I don't want to leave you to deal with it on your own." He pressed on.

I rolled my eyes, "I'm going to have to deal with it eventually." I argued.

He stood strong on his argument for God-knows-how-long before I had to literally shove him out the front door with the promise to phone him when I'd sorted it.

Head held high, I marched up the stairs and knocked on the door to Abby's bedroom.

"What?" She said moodily.

"Can I come in?"

"No." She said shortly.

"Let me just-" I started to beg but she cut me off, something she did well.

"No, stop. I don't want to talk about it. Can you just leave me alone."

I sighed and leaned my forehead against her door, hoping she would be okay by the time we headed to Emmett and Rose's house tomorrow.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Her mood did not improve in the slightest by the time we got to the car the next evening. We sat in awkward silence as she stared out the window with her arms crossed.

"I'm s-"

"No. Don't." She snapped back.

I sighed and nodded, even though she wasn't looking at me, knowing there was no point trying again just yet. I turned on the radio and turned the volume so that it was merely background music and tried again to talk to her.

"You never told me how dinner at the Clearwater's was." I stated, hoping she'd give me something.

"Didn't really get the chance." She said bitterly. "It was good though. Sue is still upset about Harry's death, which is understandable, but she doesn't let it get her down so much anymore so she's made some improvement. Spent most of my time hanging out with Seth, so it's all good."

I smiled. "Glad to hear Sue's okay. What did you and Seth do?"

She shrugged, "Stuff. I don't know. Went on his Wii for a bit and talked, went down to first beach for a bit too." she said and looked at me for the first time.

I smiled a small smile at her to show I had been paying attention, "Sounds like fun. What did you talk about, anything interesting?" I pried.

"Nothing I need to tell you about." She responded monotonously.

I pondered the idea of asking her what she meant but decided against it as we pulled up at the house.

I greeted Em and Rose with hugs of congratulations and Emmett lifted me off the floor. To Abby, he did the same, however Emmett didn't release her from her hug, instead holding her at his side and warning that he needed to have words.

I rolled my eyes and Rose pulled me onto the sofa in the living room, which was also seating Jasper and Alice.

We greeted each other with smiles and I briefly wondered why Edward wasn't here and voiced the question.

"He's on call at the hospital. He works far too much, though he'll be at Mum and Dad's house on Saturday, luckily." Jasper answered. "He did ask you to come, right?" Jasper checked and I nodded.

"Good. Ohh this is so exciting!" Alice bounced where she was sat.

"They have been engaged for like a year, you know." I reminded her.

"I know that, but there was never a date set before now. Oh I can't wait, I love weddings." She said clapping.

"Never would have guessed." Rose muttered and Alice didn't seem to hear her. "Actually though, I was wondering if you two would be my bridesmaids?" Rose asked with a huge smile.

"Oh wow really? Of course I will!" I said at the same time Alice responded "I knew you'd ask! Of course, definitely."

The wedding banter continued for a while and Jasper sat in silence, not really knowing what to do with himself. Eventually he got up and announced that he was going to go find Emmett and Abby to see what they were up to and almost ran out the room.

The three of us laughed at him before returning to our original discussion.

Rose lead us into the dining room where the dinner was already served and the thee of us took our seats.

We ate dinner as more banter about the wedding continued and once we had finished we stayed where we sat.

"Right," Emmett said loudly, clapping his hands together and turning to face Abby, "I think it's time I got some answers."

Abby raised an eyebrow, "About what?" she asked sceptically.

"Well, I hear you have an eighteen year old boyfriend." He stared at her with narrowed eyes.

"So?"

"He's too old for you."

"No he's not." Abby said stubbornly.

"Two years age difference." Emmett persisted.

"What's your point?" Abby said impatiently and everyone else around the table shared awkward glances, all wondering where this was going and if we should intercept or not. I think we all decided not.

"He's too old for you." Emmett repeated in an obvious tone.

"No. He's. Not." Abby said slowly, separating each word into it's own sentence.

Emmett sighed, "Are you even using contraception?"

Abby hid her red face in the palm of her hand for several moments before her head suddenly snapped up and she gave Rose a mischievous smile which Rose returned. Alice, Jasper and I looked at each other confused and returned to listening to Emmett and Abby have their conversation.

"Contraception?" She asked and Emmett nodded. "What's that?" She asked so convincingly I had to hold back my laugh and ended up almost chocking on it.

"You know… condoms? The pill? Birth control in general!" Emmett answered, he sounded slightly frantic which was beyond humorous.

"Oh, no, why would I want to use them, waste of time if you ask me." She answered, the sarcastic tone barely noticeable, but definitely - and luckily - still there.

"You… no, no, no. Look, I'll explain how to use them and everything. You need to use them Abby, didn't your Mum…" He trailed off unsure of the right words to use.

"She was joking, Em." I told him and I'd never seen him look more relieved.

"Well thank fuck for that." He said gratefully. "Remember, _every time_ you have sex, okay, Squirt?"

"I know, Em. I'm not a complete retard." She said slightly impatiently.

"Good. Okay then. How long did you wait before having sex with him?" Emmett asked, deadly serious.

"Come on, Em that's a little unfair." Jazz reasonably interrupted the questioning.

Emmett glared at him, "I want to make sure she's okay and that she knows what she's doing, Jazz."

"Well that's all fine and good, but you don't need to know this." He countered.

"Fine, fine you're right." He said holding up his hands and turned back to Abby who's face was flushed scarlet, "Just please tell me you waited a decent amount of time."

"Yes, I did." Abby looked round the table, "Are we done?" she asked desperately. "This is so embarrassing!"

"No." Emmett said quickly, "I haven't finished. Does he look out for you?"

"Yes, he does."

"Ah well I thought he lives in Seattle. How does he look out for you from there?" Emmett asked unconvinced.

She sighed, "He just does. He comes down a lot."

"How often?" Emmett asked, leaning forward trying to stare her down.

"Most weekends, some evenings in the week." Abby shrugged, "When he can."

"You know," Emmett began, "long distance relationships rarely work out." he pointed out.

"It wont always be long distance." She muttered under her breath. She folded her arms across her chest and trained her eyes on the table. Her head fell forwards and her hair created a curtain around her face, hiding it.

Emmett nodded and stared sadly at her. He must have noticed now that she was obviously upset by the questions and he opened his arms to her and she sat on his lap. It may have seemed odd to anyone else, but we all knew it was a sweet gesture on Emmett's part. The first time they met, she was upset because he was my first boyfriend since Jacob and I divorced and she wanted her father back home. Emmett had done the same thing then, promising everything was okay. It had been one of their many 'things' since then.

He hugged her tight and whispered "Sorry Squirt."

"It's okay, Emmybear." She answered. She sounded as though she was in tears and I was at a loss for explanations as to why. Emmett's questions hadn't been particularly upsetting and I was worried that there was something she wasn't telling us.

"I didn't mean to make you cry." Emmett said hopelessly, then looked around the table at the rest of us, a hopeless expression spread on his face.

"You didn't." She told him, "It's just… me being stupid." She explained.

"What's wrong, baby?" I asked her from across the table.

She looked at me, her eyes and face red, "Nothing. It's just the past couple of days have been… stressful." She said cautiously.

"Why, what's happened?" Alice asked gently.

"Um…" She said "Well last night was awkward for a start, and school's been a bitch and… yeah stuff like that…" She trailed off, blatantly leaving something more important out.

"What happened last night?" Jasper asked concerned.

Abby caught my eye and I knew she felt uncomfortable answering all these questions, so I told them about how she had walked in on Edward and I… groping each other.

"You did that with her in the house?" Emmett asked as though it was a personal insult.

"She wasn't in the house when we started." I defended myself, "She was at a friend's house and I didn't hear her come in."

Emmett laughed, "Sucks to be you, kid." he said to her then to all of us, "Kinda surprised it didn't happen to us, right Bells?" he joked.

Abby made a gagging sound from where she was sat and wriggled in Emmett's lap getting out of his grasp and sitting back in her chair. She over-dramatically shook her head as though trying to rid it of vile images.

"That, is a sick, twisted joke." Abby said angrily.

"Well…" Emmett started but Rose leaned over and smacked him on the back of the head.

"Will you shut up! Abby doesn't need to hear about the times you and Bella were fooling around with her in the house." Rose scolded. She didn't even care about it that much, she knows it was in the past.

Abby slumped her shoulders and put her forearms on the table to rest her head on. I reached my hand up to stroke her hair, but she flinched away from my touch.

I sighed and looked at Alice and Jasper who were looking at her sympathetically, clearly wondering what else was bothering her as I had done.

"Um… are you okay?" Jasper asked helplessly, unsure of what else to say.

"No." She answered sadly, "I feel as bad as… a mouldy cock on a rock." It was an interesting choice of words to say the least.

Rose put her arm around her shoulders and the two men raised their eyebrows at her comment. Alice bit her lip, as I stared at my daughter, aching to comfort her if only she'd let me.

I _was_ going to find out what had her so distraught all of a sudden.


	12. Chapter 12 That's What She Said

**Surprise! I've finally updated. I know, it's been a while, sorry about that have been so busy and uninspired and to be honest this has been out of my mind for a while. Lucky for you guys, I find inspiration in the most random places (I was writing an essay about Mussolini if you were interested in how I got inspired) and managed to bang out this chapter.**

**It's the longest chapter yet! Be proud guys, hopefully that makes up a bit for not updating for almost 2 months. **

**Lemon warning by the way.**

**Enjoy if anyone is still reading this =]**

Chapter 12 - That's what she said

**Edward's POV**

Considering I had spent the whole day fretting about my parents meeting Bella, I was relatively calm now.

I looked over at the passenger seat where Bella sat: the source of my calm. She looked stunning this evening in one of those really long tops that girls seemed to like wearing as dresses, black leggings and some… little flat shoes - I didn't even like admitting in my head that I knew they were called pumps, okay.

We pulled up to my parents' house and I glanced over at her once more. "You nervous?" I asked.

She licked her lips, "Yeah, a little."

"Okay, just remember, everything's gonna be fine. They'll love you, promise." I was pretty damn sure they would too. "Ready?"

She nodded, "Let's get this shit over with."

We both got out the car and made our way towards my parents' house, giving her reassuring looks on the way.

I grasped her hand tightly and knocked on the door twice before opening it anyway and stepping into my parents house. I looked over at Bella as her mouth fell agape once more, probably amazed by the space inside. My parents had an open plan first floor with a grand staircase being the first thing people noticed when they entered. The south wall being made entirely of glass _probably _had something to do with it too.

I squeezed her hand and chuckled, "Impressed?"

"Uh, just a bit." she said trying to sound casual but failing miserably.

I nodded, smiling, "Don't worry, they won't brag about it or anything and they're not stuck up." I assured, knowing she was probably going to get the wrong idea, "If you'd met them out somewhere, you wouldn't expect them to have this much… luxury at home."

"Oh no, I know that." She explained, "I'm just surprised I guess. Though I suppose I shouldn't be. You had to get your elaborate nature from somewhere." she teased.

I let go of her hand and playfully slapped her bottom, causing her to jump and let out a small, cute squeal. "Don't diss my elaborate nature, Bella. You know that's one of the reasons why you love me." I teased.

Bella smiled sweetly and bowed her head as she blushed beautifully.

All ideas of teasing had gone from my mind. Seeing her react this way to what I had said made me want desperately to say what I was thinking out loud, even if I hadn't meant for it to be taken seriously when I said it. I loved her. I fucking loved her. I hadn't allowed myself to think these words before, let alone say them out loud, but despite the location, it felt so right to say it. _I love her, I love her, I love her!_ I knew I did before, but actually thinking it… was so different; so much better. It felt fucking good to think it, so I assumed I would be ecstatic when I actually said it out loud.

I took her hands in mine and waited for her to look up at me. When she did, I quickly checked that no one was around and met her gaze with mine. The intensity I saw in her eyes can't have had much on the intensity that must have been in mine.

"Bella," I whispered softly, feeling only slightly nervous, "I know you said not to say it unless I meant it but I do. I really, really do."

She furrowed her eyebrows, "You really what, Edward?"

My eyes widened and I blushed - I fucking blushed - as I realised that I hadn't actually said it. What an idiot. I took a deep breath, "Bella," I said, smiling widely, "I love you."

She smiled gorgeously at me, blushing wildly. She let go of my hands and for a moment I panicked, thinking she was going to reject me until she reached up on her toes and wrapped her arms around my neck. She pulled my head down slightly so our noses were touching and our eyes were connected.

"I love you too, Edward." she whispered and my heart swelled.

I smiled and closed the distance between our lips. The kiss was sweet and tender, every bit of love I felt for her was poured into the kiss and the same was given to me in return. Our lips moved together slowly, parting slightly, but neither of us made any move to go further; it would have ruined the meaning of the kiss.

When we broke apart, I rested my forehead against hers and closed my eyes. I wrapped my arms around her waist tightly and she tightened the hold she had on my neck, the tips of her fingers toying with the hair at the back of my neck.

"Aww!" The voice of my - sometimes - annoying pixie sister-in-law cut into our moment.

I turned my head to look at her, "Go away, Alice." I whined.

She rolled her eyes and slapped my arm lightly, "Shut up, Edward and get off my best friend so I can give her a hug."

I lifted my head and narrowed my eyes at her. I shook my head childishly and pulled Bella to me, so she was unable to move. "No." I said stubbornly.

Alice crossed her arms and huffed and I stuck my tongue out playfully at her. She rolled her eyes and grinned, "Hi, Bella."

Bella turned her head towards the pixie, "Hey Al."

I kissed the top of her head and released her from my hold, allowing her and Alice to greet each other properly.

"Where's the others?" I asked.

"Over there." Alice answered pointing her thumb towards the sitting room area where my family were stood smiling in our direction. They didn't even have the decency to look ashamed or guilty for watching our exchange or anything. Typical.

"You gonna stand there and gawk at us all evening or are you gonna come meet my girlfriend?" I said, mock annoyed.

"Well actually," Emmett started, "I was thinking since I already know her very well." he paused to wink at Bella and Rose, noticing the gesture, smacked him round the head, "Ouch baby, sorry. I was just saying that we've already been introduced, so I might just stand here and gawk some more." he smiled.

I rolled my eyes. "Whatever. Anyway, Bella, this is my mother, Esme." I said pointing between the two of them. "Mum, this is Bella."

They smiled at each other and my mother pulled Bella into a hug, "It's nice to finally meet you Bella. We've been wanting to meet you for a while now, this lot are pretty taken with you it seems."

I couldn't see Bella's face but I was almost certain she was blushing, "Thank you, Mrs Cullen, it's nice to meet you too."

My mother chuckled, "Please, dear, call me Esme."

"Of course, sorry, Esme."

"Don't apologise to me, nothing to be sorry for. Just want you to feel comfortable." Mum replied, letting go of Bella who nodded.

I cleared my throat and continued with the introductions, "Um and Bella, this is my father, Carlisle." I said pointing to my dad offhandedly.

"It's nice to meet you, Bella." My dad greeted offering her his hand, "But before you say anything, please call me Carlisle."

Bella smiled sheepishly and shook his hand. "Pleased to meet you too Carlisle."

"Right, now let's go get our grub on! Mum makes the best damn food." Emmett stated from where he was stood with Rose and Jasper and dragged Rose with him to the dining room table.

Everyone else followed suit and pulled up a chair, admiring the meal mum had put together for us all. She'd made lasagne, and I wasn't gonna lie, my mum made the world's best lasagne. No contest.

"Wow, this looks really good Esme." Bella said honestly.

Mum shrugged, "I try my best. Hope it tastes as good as it looks."

Everyone dug in and the table fell into silence as we devoured the food in front of us.

As the plates began to empty, mum spoke to Bella, "So, Bella, I hear you have a daughter." Well at least she didn't beat around the bush I suppose.

Bella blushed and cleared her throat, "Um, yes." she said awkwardly.

"How old is she?"

"She's uh, 16." Bella answered hesitantly, obviously not really wanting to talk about this at the minute, but mum wasn't going to give up easily, so I - and everyone else - let the conversation carry on without our interruption.

"If you don't mind me saying, you don't look old enough to have a 16 year old daughter."

"Thank you, Esme." Bella said quietly, looking down at her almost empty plate.

Mum folded her hands on the table top, "Your welcome." she paused and looked at my dad for a second before continuing, "So, does she see her father often?" she pried.

I saw Alice and Rose share a worried glance, both biting their lower lips, looking unsure about what Bella was about to say.

Bella crossed her arms and looked almost ashamed, I had to resist the urge to go to her. She took a deep breath, "I don't really know who her father is…"

My eyes widened; this was news to me. I had assumed that her ex-husband was the father. If she wasn't going to explain this now, I would have to talk to her about it privately later. Looking round the table, I seemed to be the only one who was phased by it, not even my parents seemed as shocked as I was and I know for a fact they couldn't have known this or it wouldn't have been mentioned.

Mum and dad nodded and smiled, "Your brave for raising her on her own. What's her name?" dad asked.

Bella breathed a sigh of relief and before answering, she looked at me embarrassed. I raised my eyebrows, wanting an explanation. She nodded once and turned back to my dad, "Thanks, but I wasn't really alone. My ex husband raised her with me. Her name's Abby."

After that the conversation moved on to easier topics: Bella's job, how she'd met everyone - though her explanation of meeting Emmett didn't put me at ease at all - and Bella asked more about my parents jobs. She seemed impressed that mum had designed the house herself being an interior designer and that my dad was my inspiration by being a neurosurgeon and she grinned at me when he said so.

As the conversation came to an end, mum stood and started gathering the crockery and cutlery to take out to the kitchen. Dad stood to help her along with Bella.

"Sit down sweetheart, we can take care of this, you're the guest." Mum insisted to Bella, but she wasn't having any of it.

"No, it's no trouble, really."

Mum hesitated for a moment but nodded and the three of them walked out together.

I looked at them feeling guilty for not offering to help myself and stood without saying anything to anyone else and went to give them a hand in the kitchen.

The three of them were stood around the sink sorting through the dirty plates and the two women were talking, "Thank you for dinner, Esme, you're an amazing cook." Bella complimented my mother.

She smiled warmly in response, "Thank you, sweetheart."

I smiled widely at their interaction, glad that the evening had gone well so far. I looked at my dad who was smiling almost proudly at me and my chest swelled. I could read my dad well; he was pleased with my choice.

From the corner of my eye I saw Emmett stand from his seat at the dining table and head over in our direction. When he approached us, he placed a hand firmly on my shoulder and, grinning said, "I was thinking I'd put a DVD on."

Dad nodded, "Sounds like a good idea, son."

Emmett removed his hand from my shoulder and clapped his together, "Awesome!" he exclaimed and walked off towards the sitting room.

Mum, dad, Bella and I continued to wash the dishes as my mum continued to quiz Bella about the miniscule details of her life. Dad and I watched their exchange with grins on our faces, occasionally glancing at each other and smirking as you do.

When the 'hard' work had been done, the four of us headed into the living room to find everyone else in their already. Emmett was kneeling in front of the DVD player looking indecisively at two different DVD cases. Alice and Rosalie were sat on the sofa having one of their girly chats and Jasper was sat beside them looking a little out of place.

My parents quickly occupied the two armchairs in the corner of the room and Bella dragged me by the hand to the sofa so she could join in with the girl talk. As she did so I hugged my arm loosely around her waist as I asked Jasper what the hell Emmett was doing, to which he replied with a short snort and a shrug.

"Oh my God will you hurry up and shove it in already!" I yelled at Emmett after he had spent at least five minutes pissing around with the DVD and player.

He laughed his loud, booming laugh and I noticed Bella and Alice shaking with laughter slightly too.

I raised my eyebrows at the three of them but before I could ask what the hell they were laughing at, Emmett stood up and turned to face me, still laughing.

"That's what she said!" he shouted and bent over in hysterical laughter.

I rolled my eyes as he was scolded, "Emmett Cullen!" Mum shouted at him.

The laughter stopped immediately, "What?" he whined, "Alice and Bella were thinking it too!" he crossed his arms over his chest. He really was such a child.

Alice jumped up and poked him hard in the stomach and he winced and began rubbing his abdomen. "Fuck Alice that hurts."

"Language, Emmett!" Mum scolded again.

"Sorry Mum." he said with an innocent smile on her face.

"Are we watching the film or not?" Jasper spoke up quickly.

Emmett hurriedly shoved the DVD in the player and we all settled down to watch it. Emmett and Rosalie were lying on their stomachs on the floor in front of the TV, holding their heads up with the palms of their hands. My parents were sat in the two single chairs holding hands across the small gap. Jasper was sat on the edge of the sofa with Alice sat on the floor between his legs while he absentmindedly played with her short hair. Bella and I took up the remainder of the sofa; I was laying across most of its length with my feet almost touching Jaspers leg with Bella lying on top of me, her cheek resting on my chest as my arms wrapped around her. It could have looked a little strange from the outside, but for us - well me at least - it felt comfortable and natural.

I hardly paid attention to the film at all. I spent the most part of it staring at the girl lying on top of me. I loved watching her reactions to what she saw on the screen, the way she laughed her melodic laugh when she found something funny or how she would narrow her eyes when she was concentrating hard on something.

When the film was over, everyone physically relaxed. None of us had moved much for the 90 minutes the film was playing and our muscles were in need of flexing.

Jasper rolled his head to the side lazily, "I think we should probably head home."

Mum smiled at him and stood up, dad, Alice and Jasper did the same and they greeted each other good night.

Emmett and Rose, who were now spread out across the floor simply waved at them, obviously exhausted. Alice and Jasper waved back before they turned to us.

Bella slowly but surely lifted herself off of me and my arms felt empty. She wrapped Alice up in a hug and Jasper and I had a bit of a man-hug. Jasper then looked over at our parents, promised to call them tomorrow and he and the pixie left, leaving the six of us to lounge about my parents house.

No more than 10 minutes since Alice and Jasper's departure, I decided it was time for me and Bella to head on home, there was a few things I wanted to talk to her about before the night was over.

We were given the same greeting as Alice and Jasper had been and we ambled over to the car.

I pulled away from the house and asked, "Should I take you home?"

She shook her head, "Not really, could we go back to yours? If you don't mind that is." she said unsure.

I reached over and covered the hand in her lap with mine, rubbing it caringly with my thumb, "Of course. Where's Abby?"

She sighed, slightly frustrated, "She's with Chris tonight."

I nodded, "You don't sound too happy about that." I pointed out, trying to get her to explain without outright asking her about it.

She shrugged, "I don't mind. Not really. It's just… she's been acting weird lately, and I don't know why."

"You'll figure it out." I reassured her, and I noticed her bob her head slightly in agreement. I wanted to know what she was talking about earlier with not knowing who Abby's father was. Deciding sooner rather than later, I asked, "So… what did you err… I mean, what happened with Abby's biological father?"

Bella removed her hand from under mine and crossed her arms, turning to look out the window. I placed that hand back on the steering wheel and waited for her to respond… or not as the case may be. I was just about to tell her to forget it when she spoke up, "I was at a party at the end of senior year. I didn't really want to be there so I just spent most of the night drinking whatever Alice gave me." trust Alice to have been there, "I'm a little unsure of the details but I do know that I woke up the next morning naked in a bed that wasn't mine and a couple of weeks later I was pregnant."

"And you're sure that was when you got-" she cut me off.

"Pregnant? Yes, I'm sure." She said in a tone that meant it was the end of the conversation.

I didn't say anything in response and we spent the rest of the car ride in silence.

When we arrived my house, I helped her out of the car in the same fashion I did all the time and thankfully she accepted my hand. Spur of the moment I decided to lead her round to the garden so we could dip our feet in the pool under the moon and star light.

I kicked off my shoes, pulled off my socks and rolled up the legs of my jeans before sitting on the edge of the pool end putting my legs in the cool water of my swimming pool. I turned and looked up at Bella who was stood staring at me as she bit her nails. I motioned for her to join me and she hesitated before pulling off her shoes and her leggings and sitting beside me.

I looked down at her long, slender, natural pale legs that simply called to me but didn't allow my gaze to linger there as I wasn't sure how to handle my self control around her. I looked back up to look at her face; she was looking down into the water.

I wrapped my arm around her lovingly and rested my head on her shoulder. After a moment she leaned her head down on top of mine and we sat unmoving for a while, just revelling in each other's company.

"What are you thinking?" I asked her genuinely curious, finding it frustrating not knowing.

She sighed softly, "I'm thinking that I owe you a real explanation about Abby's dad."

I squeezed her gently, "No, it doesn't matter for now. We'll talk about it later." I said truthfully, "I'm sorry for prying."

"It's okay." She whispered, "You know what else I'm thinking?" I shook my head, "I'm thinking that I love you, Edward Cullen."

My heart raced in my chest as she spoke those words to me, I don't think I'd ever tire of hearing her say them. I lifted my head from her shoulder and rested the palm of my hand against her cheek so I could turn her face towards me.

I smiled warmly at her and leant in, placing a soft, quick kiss on her full lips and leaning my forehead against hers.

I saw her smile and she flitted her eyes to mine. "It's a bit unfair really that I say I love you and my boyfriend doesn't even say it back." She said in a light, teasing tone, "What a jerk."

I laughed a little before pulling a way from her and poking her sides softly to tickle her. She squirmed under my touch as she released her beautiful laugh. Eventually, since she must have realised I wasn't going to give up any time soon, she escaped from my grasp and jumped into the water.

I stared wide eyed at her form under the water and watched as she came up and broke the surface, laughing uncaringly.

In almost no time I was in the water with her, laughing loudly, feeling energetic and care-free. I swam quickly over to her and wrapped my arms around her waist so she put her hands on my forearms.

When we had both stopped laughing, I gazed lovingly into her eyes and proclaimed, "I love you too, Bella Swan, so much."

She smiled sweetly and stood on her toes to kiss me. I kissed her back lovingly and passionately; showing all the feelings I had for her in this kiss. I dragged my tongue across her bottom lip and she opened her mouth to my tongue.

She ran her hands up my arms and placed them on my shoulders when I tightened my grip on her. Her fingers ran through my hair, making it faintly damp, but I didn't care, she could make it as fucking wet as she wanted. All I cared about was the feel of her lips on mine, her tongue massaging mine and the feel of her fingers in my hair.

I slid my hands down to cup her ass and she used them as leverage to wrap her legs around my waist under the water, crossing her ankles behind my back to tighten the hold she had on me. Her centre was pressing down onto my crotch and I was instantly hard.

Worried that she was going to notice, I tried to shift her off of me but she only tightened her grip further. I pulled my mouth off of hers, "Bella." I warned.

She bit her lip as she smiled at me both cheekily and timidly at the same time, "Edward." she paused and looked serious, "make love to me."

I opened and closed my mouth several times, probably looking like a fish before answering with a shocked, "I don't know, Bella."

She nodded her head slowly and unwrapped her legs from my waist, then hugging herself tightly. A wave of guilt hit me when I realised she must have thought I was rejecting her, which wasn't the case. I wanted the first time we made love to be romantic, with me having taken her out somewhere special and spoiled her all evening beforehand.

She turned her back to me and I heard her sniff quietly, making my heart break. I hugged her from behind and kissed her cheek.

"I'm so sorry, I know how that must have sounded. I'm so, so sorry, baby. I just meant are you sure? I mean, here? Right now?" I asked.

She nodded and turned in my arms, "We've been putting this off for so long. I want to belong to you completely, Edward. I want to show you how much I love you, let me show you, Edward, please."

I licked my lips, I wanted this as much as she did - probably more considering I would do anything to give her what she wanted - so nodded in response. I leaned down to kiss her even more passionately and almost desperately, unlike before.

I ran my hands up and down her sides before slipping my hands up the bottom of her top and hooking my thumbs into her panties. I dragged them down slowly and - before my head went under the water - allowed her to pull them off the rest of the way.

My fingers rubbed slowly against her clit, wanting to savour this moment for as long as possible. Her hands ran down my torso and unfastened my jeans with ease and I stepped out of them. My boxers followed soon after and she stroked my cock agonisingly slowly, but I was embarrassingly close already.

Not taking my eyes off of her, I lifted her up and sat her on the pool ladder to make things a little more simple and a little more comfortable. As she perched on one of the steps, she spread her legs to me, giving me more access to her stunning centre.

I quickly slipped my hands behind her back and found the hem of her shirt - which had risen up considerably - and lifted it off over her head. Her eyes had darkened with lust and I ran my hand over her erect nipples, causing her to let out a deep, guttural moan.

I licked my lips and leaned down to suck on her neck leaving marks on her delicate flesh as my hands trailed down to the most sensitive part of her body. I massaged her clit almost roughly as the fingers of my other hand slipped between her folds as I entered her opening. I pumped in and out of her, her hips pushing forwards, trying to have my fingers fill her completely. I tried hard not to touch her g spot; I didn't want her to cum on my fingers tonight.

Before she got too close to her release, I pulled out and moved my lips back up to hers. I felt her tug on the bottom of my shirt and I broke away to pull it off before I reconnected my lips with hers.

Her small, soft hands wrapped tenderly around my throbbing member and pumped up and down occasionally twisting her hands slightly, causing me to jerk and thrust against it.

I could feel my release building within me and I didn't want to wait anymore. I gripped her wrist and pulled it away before I allowed my fingers to link with hers and pulled her upright.

"Are we… alright?" I asked nervously hoping she would catch on.

She smiled and nodded, "I'm on the pill." she answered, understanding.

I smiled back at her and lifted her up, allowing her to put her thighs around my waist again. I kissed her lips again as I lowered her body onto my member until I was sheathed within her completely.

We stayed unmoving for a while, just taking in the feeling of each other. It felt so right to be with her this way, and she felt perfect wrapped around me.

I began to move slowly within her, being as gentle with her as possible, she was as delicate as glass here in my arms, she deserved tenderness. As we rocked together, we gave each other small, sweet caresses and kisses, mine going to her neck to her cheeks to her neck, to her breasts. In turn, she would gently kiss my lips or my shoulders as her fingers trailed patterns along my arms and my back, sending electric sensations through me.

We were relatively quieter than normal, trying not to ruin the act with rough screams and groans, though we released the soft sighs and moans of pleasure. The closer we came to our release, the harder it was to remain so quiet, but somehow we managed to achieve it.

I began to thrust my hips faster and more frequently as I felt that I couldn't hold on anymore; her hips moving in sync with mine as we reached our climax.

I felt her walls tighten around me first as she rode out her orgasm, repeating my name over and over again. Hearing her say my name generally made me feel good, but to hear her say it in pleasure, in this animal like way, caused me to release myself within her. "I love you." I moaned as I orgasmed.

"I love you too, Edward." She replied quietly. Even after we had both climaxed, I stayed inside her for a bit longer, just wanting to be connected to her for a bit longer.

I turned my head to look back across the pool; Items of our clothing were floating on the top of the water. I laughed as I turned back to look at her and she looked at me questioningly. I motioned my head towards the floating articles of clothing and she too laughed.

With a sigh, she unwrapped her legs from my waist and climbed off me. I kept my arms wrapped round her as we headed back to the pool stairs.

We climbed out and headed straight back inside in search of towels. I grabbed two from the cupboard and wrapped on tightly around her frame before securing one around my waist.

I took her hand and headed towards my bedroom. I looked through my drawers and pulled out a shirt for her to wear in case she would be more comfortable that way, despite us having just been intimate. I offered it to her and she shook her head.

"I don't think I'm gonna need it." She said smiling.

I grinned sheepishly, "I know, I just thought maybe…" I trailed off a little embarrassed.

"Aww, you're blushing!" She cooed.

I narrowed my eyes in mock annoyance, "Shut up, you."

She poked me in the chest, "You shut up, _Eddie."_

"You didn't."

She smirked at me, "Oh yes, yes I did."

I shook my head as I laughed, "You're gonna regret that." I teased and started running towards her. She squealed and ran away from me, climbing over my bed. I followed suit and we made several circuits of my room before she gave up and collapsed in a heap on my bed.

I lay down next to her and she curled into my side. I wrapped my arms around her and she yawned loudly, causing me to grin.

I reached behind me a flipped off the light switch leaving us lying in complete darkness.

"You ready to sleep, Beautiful?" I asked..

I heard her sigh, "I suppose."

I kissed the top of her head and nodded. "Goodnight, Sweetheart." I whispered, but didn't get a reply. I assumed she had already fallen asleep.

I tightened my grip on her as I let my mind wander. I thought about how right it felt to hold her in my arms as she slept, how right we felt to be connected, and how right everything was about us.

I didn't think I could find a moment better than this one: holding my love in my arms as she slept peacefully, after making the most unique, breathtaking love to her and generally spending the entire evening with her and those I hold dear to me.

That was until I heard her whisper "I love you, Edward." in her sleep.


	13. Chapter 13 Delve Into The Past

Chapter 13 - Delve Into The Past

**Bella's POV**

With my eyes still closed, I stretched my body out in the large, comfortable bed, snuggling into the pillows. I let out a content sigh and opened my eyes into slits and smiled when I saw I was in Edward's bedroom.

Last night hadn't been a dream after all, and I was so fucking happy it wasn't; it was probably one of the best nights of my life. There was nothing wrong with any of the other times I've had sex, but last night was different. Last night was romantic and gentle and was just about me and Edward and the love we have for each other and now, I was in Edward's bed, in Edward's room… though there was no Edward.

I sat up slowly and looked around the floor for something to wear. I eyed the shirt Edward had offered me the night before at the end of the bed and threw it on; Edward wouldn't mind.

I made my way down the stairs and headed into the kitchen just as he turned towards the door holding a tray full of food.

He smiled widely at me and placed the tray back on the counter top. He gave me a soft kiss on the lips and enveloped me in his arms. "Good morning, Beautiful."

I smiled into his neck and pecked him there, "Good morning, handsome."

He laughed and squeezed me tighter. "Sleep well?"

I nodded against his chest and looked up at him, "Very. You?"

He kissed the top of my head before answering, "Of course. I had you with me."

I blushed and stood on my tip toes to kiss him before pointing my gaze behind him at the tray he had just been carrying, "What's that?" I asked.

He turned his head to look where I was and turned back to me, "Well, I was going to bring you breakfast in bed," he explained with a smirk on his face, "but you're already out of bed now so… I don't know, I guess we could just have a spread in the living room?" he offered.

I nodded and he turned to grab the tray before following me out of the kitchen toward the living room. He placed the tray down in the middle of the room and we sat cross legged on either side of it.

I reached over and grabbed a slice of toast to nibble on as he went straight for the bacon and managed to get almost the whole strip in his mouth in one bite. I raised my eyebrow at him as I chewed and he grinned at me, bits of bacon stuck in his teeth.

I swallowed quickly and scrunched up my face, very put off by the sight. I leaned over and poked him in the shoulder, before commenting, "You know I love you, but you're disgusting."

He took a large gulp of orange juice that was sat on the tray before responding, "Yeah well, when you love someone, you gotta accept the bad too."

I chuckled, "Yeah. I do." I said teasingly.

He raised an eyebrow at me before a sly grin took over his face. His slid the tray out of the way so there was nothing between us before he took my calves in his hands and pulled me towards him by my legs, straightening them out. He kept a hold on the tops of my thighs when he was kneeling between my legs, looking down at my body smiling; most of it had been revealed by the top riding up above my belly button.

"Am I really that bad huh?" He asked in a mock hurt voice.

"Terrible." I answered, trying to be serious but failing miserably, feeling far too excited about this position than I probably should.

"I see." He said as he ran his hands up and down my legs softly. Eventually, he hooked his right hand behind my left knee and bought it up so my foot was hovering in the air. "I hope I can change your mind." He said as he leaned down and placed a kiss on the side of my knee, making my breath catch in my throat.

"I'm sure you can." I managed to gasp as he dragged his nose down my thigh slowly, sending shocks right through to my core.

He peered up at me and smiled as he bought his face to hover over my entrance. Feeling his warm breath made me ache for more and I lifted my hips slightly, hoping to convey the message. He lifted his head to look at me and gave me his signature crooked smile, licked his lips and pressed a firm, hot kiss to my lower lips, causing me to release a strong, guttural moan. As I did so, he removed his lips and released my leg, backing up to where he was sat before and bit into another piece of bacon as though nothing had happened.

I widened my eyes at him before sitting up and pouting, crossing my arms, "Tease."

"I know." He answered smiling, with more chewed up bacon being put on show.

When we'd finished the food and Edward had continued to eat like the lovable pig he was, we got dressed and headed out in his car.

"Where are we going?" I asked curiously.

"It's a surprise." He answered with no explanation.

"Oh please." I begged, "just one little clue?" I asked with a pout and flutter of my eyelids, attempting to get him to answer me.

I could see he was looking at me out of the corner of his eye, "I'm not saying anything." he said and cleared his throat, "we'll be there soon."

"Fine." I huffed, only slightly frustrated. I was too curious for my own good, and if I was kept in the dark, I didn't like it.

Edward laughed lightly and reached over to hold my hand, clearly appreciating that I didn't pry. I linked our fingers together and made circles on the back of his hand with my free index finger, focusing my attention on that alone.

After not too long, the Volvo came to a halt and Edward squeezed my hand gently, "We're here."

I looked up and examined our location; there wasn't much here, just a footpath and a wood, as well as the rest of the road. I looked at Edward, "Where does the footpath lead to?"

He shrugged, "Don't know. We're not going up there." he answered.

I furrowed my brow in confusion, "Well if we're not going up there then whe-" I cut myself off, mentally slapping my forehead. It was blatantly obvious where we were going, into the woods. The only thing that wasn't obvious was why, "What's in the woods?" I asked.

"Surprise." he answered simply and I groaned. "You'll like it I promise." He added.

I had every faith that I would but that wasn't the problem, "It's not that, how do you expect us to get to… where ever it is we're going?"

"We're going to walk." He responded like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

Just one problem with that, "I'm going to break my neck! You realise how clumsy I am, right?"

"I'm not going to let you fall, Bella." He said seriously, and I could see his sincerity deep within his eyes. I trusted him and I knew he wouldn't let me hurt myself. I nodded and he smiled, coming round and helping me out of the car as he always did.

I nervously stepped into the woods as Edward held my hand. It was quite dark in there as the trees kept out the small amount of sunlight that there was. I tripped frequently on the sticks and clutter of the floor, but Edward didn't complain when he held me up and kept my balance for me. I felt so bad though; this was probably taking a lot longer than he had anticipated.

After who knows how long, Edward came to a sudden stop and I almost crashed into him. I peered around his body to see why we had stopped.

My jaw dropped open as I took in the sight before me. There was a gap in the trees just ahead which was brighter than the rest of the wood. In the gap was a clearing - well more like a meadow - with long, green grass and wildflowers. It was a circular shape, making it appear cut off from the rest of the world, it didn't look real, more like an oasis. It was too beautiful to possibly be held within the dull and dreary town of Forks.

I looked to Edward and whispered, "Is this where we've been heading for?"

He nodded in response and I gasped, "It's so beautiful."

"I know," he agreed, "but I can hardly call it beautiful, not when you're standing here beside me in comparison."

I blushed furiously and lowered my eyes to the floor. Edward tightened his grip on my hand and pulled me towards the dazzling meadow and we lay down side by side in the grass.

After a while of comfortable silence, I spoke up, "How did you find this place?"

He turned his head to look at me briefly before turning his gaze up to the sky once again, "I used to come here a lot before I left home. If I needed to clear my head or something. I was driving back home from somewhere or another and saw that path up where the Volvo's parked. I really needed a walk. I didn't intend to go into the woods but it just happened and I kept going. I was pretty sure I wasn't going to find anything of interest but just walking was helping. Eventually, I found this meadow and it's been my favourite place ever since."

"Wow." I said in awe.

"Yeah." He responded simply, "Bella, there's a reason I bought you here." he started, "I wanted to share this place with you. I haven't shown anyone this place, not even Tanya." he paused, licking his lips. "I want… I want to talk about what happened with her. I mean, what happened that caused us to divorce." he finished.

I nodded even though he wasn't looking at me and sat up, crossing my legs and looked down at him. He looked a little nervous and hurt. I wondered how bad his divorce must have been to have him feeling hurt by it still. I ran my finger up and down his forearm, tracing patterns in an attempt to ease the pain.

After a few minutes, he still hadn't said anything, so I offered, "Can I tell you about Jacob first? Why we split up? It's not particularly tragic but maybe for you to understand everything about Abby, I could tell you what actually happened."

He nodded, "If you don't mind."

I smiled as I continued to trace the patterns on his arm, "Well," I began, "Jake and I have been friends since before I can remember," I explained, remembering how we used to go fishing with our fathers together when I would come to visit Charlie in the summer, "I wouldn't see him very often because, well, he lived in La Push, and I lived in Phoenix, but our fathers are best friends and that's how I knew him." I paused, "When I was 17 though, I came to live with Charlie permanently to give my mum and her husband some space, so Jake and I became closer."

I looked at his face and saw he was staring at me, completely interested in my story. I smiled and ran my hand through his hair.

He took hold of my hand and played with my fingers, "Please, continue with your story."

I complied, "Well, you know the next part, I stupidly got myself pregnant with no idea who the father was. Jake was the first person I told and he was so supportive of me, it was unreal and I was so grateful.

"It was only a couple of months until Abby was born when he told me that he'd been in love with me since I'd come down to Forks permanently. I didn't know what to say at first. I loved Jake, he was my best friend but I had never thought of him in that way before. It was one of those things where the more you thought about it, the more you liked the idea."

I took a deep breath, "Anyway, we ended up getting together and I found that it was so easy to love him in that way. I fell head over heels. When Abby was born, he was so helpful and he didn't mind that she wasn't his, he treated her like his own and not long after she was born, we got engaged and soon after, married.

"As Abby grew older, she began referring to him as 'daddy' and… we just didn't say anything; Jake was more of a father to her than her biological dad would ever be, not that it's his fault. I know it's really only fair that a child know where they come from but I don't even know and she's a complete Daddy's girl. I couldn't risk ruining that bond they had."

I lay down and rested my head on Edward's chest, hugging myself to him, reliving the feelings I felt when all of this had happened and it was overwhelming - more so than I would have thought - and needed his comfort. Edward complied and wrapped his arms around me securely before I carried on.

"So, uh, after a few years, Abby had started school and me and Jake were trying for another child, one Jake could truly call his own. He loved Abby of course - still does - but one wasn't enough for either of us anyway. It wasn't happening, and we figured we should get everything checked out. Turned out Jake's infertile. It was crushing, for both of us really; I wanted to have his child just as much as he wanted me to have his. We got through it though, and our relationship only grew stronger - at least for a short while - as well as his relationship with Abby.

"Only problem was though, we both changed after that. Not much, only a little, but it affected us as a couple in the long run. So after a lot of thought and discussion, we realised that we wanted different things, and about three years ago, we decided to get divorced. It was the toughest decision I've ever made and it took years to get over him, I think in a way I never will…"

I paused, realising what I'd just said. It was true though, as much as I loved Edward, part of me will always belong to Jacob. We've been through too much together for it to just not matter anymore, and he'll always be a part of my life. I just hoped Edward would understand that.

I looked back at his face and much to my relief, he was looking at me with understanding. I wondered if that was how he felt about Tanya, but from his expression he had when he bought the topic up, maybe his experience was very different from mine.

"I'm sorry." I said, hoping I hadn't gone too far in saying what I had.

Edward sat up, smiling softly, and wrapped his arms around me, "It's okay," he assured me, "I know what you mean. Thank you for telling me that. It does make it easier to understand your situation. I still want to share mine with you as well actually… if you don't mind."

"Of course not." I answered, leaning back against him.

"Okay,' he said, "it's just, not exactly something I like to talk about, so bear with me, alright?" he warned and I nodded, allowing him to explain in his own time.

I felt his chest rise considerably as he took a deep breath and then blew it out in a whistle against my ear. I placed a kiss on his cheek, reminding him that I didn't care what the reason was for his divorce, and that I loved him. It must have worked because it caused him to get straight to the point.

"Tanya and I were going to have a baby, only I didn't actually know about it until it was too late. She had an abortion." He said quickly before leaning his forehead on my shoulder and taking a shaky breath.

I had to fight to hold in my gasp at this revelation. How could she have done that? I had never met this woman but I already didn't like her. Why did she get rid of the baby and why didn't she tell Edward about it? My instincts both as Edward's girlfriend and a mother told me to hate this woman.

I turned my body towards Edward's almost broken frame and wrapped my arms as tight as a vice around his neck. This was a big deal. Fuck that, this was a massive deal and he didn't deserve that at all.

I stroked his hair as he gripped my waist as though his life depended on it. I placed a kiss in his hair and I heard him sniff as though he was crying.

"Edward, please don't cry," I pleaded, almost in tears myself just seeing him this way, "you don't need to say anymore, okay. I understand." I assured him as I continually ran my fingers through his thick bronze hair.

He shook his head, "No, I really need to get it out. I want you to understand if I ever get possessive or jealous or just generally weird. It's also why I get so fucking weird about you having dated Emmett and - probably the only positive - one of the reasons I want to try as hard as I can to be close to Abby." he enlightened me.

"Okay." I answered.

He leaned back and pushed my hair out of my eyes, as he watched the movements his hands made. He then moved his hands away from me and placed them on his knees. Despite my desperate want to touch and comfort him, I fought the urge, knowing he cut off our contact for a reason and allowed him his space.

"She… she cheated on me too, many times." he stated and I had to grasp my elbows to stop my arms reaching out for him.

"I'm sorry." Was all I said. All I could say at that point.

"Don't be." he shook his head, "I don't want you to feel pity for me, I just want you to know," he said monotonously, "should I tell you the whole story or is that enough?" he asked.

"It's up to you. Whatever you feel more comfortable with." I answered, wanting him to take the lead here.

He nodded, "I want you to know." he took another deep breath, "Tanya and I went to school together. I hated her guts, so much. I don't really know why, she'd never done anything to me and she didn't have a bad reputation, I just didn't like her. We went our separate ways at college and didn't have anything to do with each other until about a year or so after we got out. It took us a while to realise we went to school together, but by then I loved her, and I think at that point she might actually have loved me too, but I don't know.

"It must have been around that time we got engaged and Tanya took a year to plan a big, elaborate wedding. Not really my thing but I wanted her to have the day she wanted. It didn't take that long before I decided I wanted to be a father, but when I mentioned it to her she'd say she wasn't ready or something important was happening at work so it wasn't the time and all that other bullshit.

"It took a few years but she did eventually agree to try. After about a year we still hadn't had any luck; turned out she was still taking the pill. I confronted her and she apologised, so I stupidly forgave her. I know for a fact then that she stopped taking them, but as far as I was concerned, there was no difference. Then she started coming home from 'work'" he said sarcastically, "later, coming up with shit excuses like she wanted to finish something; she always did that shit at our house.

"Basically, I then found out she was having several affairs with some men from her office. I told her I knew and she admitted to everything, and revealed that she had had the abortion withouth even mentioning a baby to me. I was so pissed, hurt and confused I had no idea what was going on, all I know is I ended up filing for divorce. I didn't find out why she got an abortion and I didn't want to hear it. I had been devastated by it and to say my family were upset was an understatement." he looked down at his hands that were still resting on his knees, "I just thought I should tell you that anyway…" he trailed off.

I looked at him for a few more moments, hoping he would look at me, but he didn't. I sat up on my knees and placed my hand over his. When he looked back at me, I gave him a small smile which he returned.

"I'm sorry about Tanya and I'm sorry you lost that chance to be a father, when you want to be one so badly and I'm sorry there's nothing I can do." I whispered sincerely.

He mimicked my actions and sat up on his knees then turned his hands over to hold mine. "I love you, Bella." he announced, sounding almost proud of himself for having said that.

I grinned at him and replied, "I love you too, Edward."

He pulled me to him and held my body against his. He pressed his lips against mine and I got a familiar shock of electricity at the contact. He parted his mouth slightly, causing me to do the same and I darted my tongue into his mouth, inviting him to do the same to me, and he did so.

I felt my phone vibrate in my pocket and I jumped, shocked by the feeling. I grinned sheepishly at Edward and apologised before reaching into my pocket to answer it.

I looked at the number on the screen, it was one I didn't recognise. Hesitantly, I answered, "Hello?"

"Hi, Mum," my daughter's voice rang out from the other end of the phone, "it's me." she added.

"I figured it 'was you' already when you called me Mum." I pointed out to her, causing Edward to smile. "Who's number are you calling on?" I asked.

"Chris', sorry my phone's dead and I'm not quite home yet so haven't been able to charge it." she told me.

"Oh okay. What is it?" I asked, hoping I wasn't sounding short as I didn't appreciate the interruption.

"Just wondering if Chris can stay the night tonight?" she requested.

I hesitated, "I guess that's alright." I paused, "tell Chris I said hello."

I could hear the smile in her voice when she answered, "Will do. Say hi to Edward for me."

"How did you know I was with him?" I asked surprised as I looked him up and down, for no real reason other than to admire.

She laughed, "I didn't."

I furrowed my brow, not sure what was so funny but figured I probably shouldn't ask. Edward cleared his throat and I was just about to end the conversation with Abby when Edward motioned for the phone. I raised an eyebrow at him but he just insisted I give him the phone further.

I shrugged and passed him over, watching him as he talked to her, "Abby?"

He stayed silent as he listened to her response. "Yeah, I'm fine thanks, you?" he nodded, smiling, "Good… yeah I was just wondering if you were still interested in those piano lessons?" another pause, he looked up at me smiling widely as I felt my heart swell that he'd remembered. "Sure, that actually works for me… yeah… okay, well I've got everything at mine so you should be fine." he paused again and gave me a thumbs up, "I'll check with your mother for you, she'll say it's fine, don't worry." he winked at me, "Yeah okay, see you then." he said then hung up the phone and gave it back to me.

"What I didn't get a goodbye then?" I asked, mock surprise in my voice.

"Obviously not." Edward answered smiling. "Come on, we should probably get out of here," he said as he stood up and offered me his hand which I graciously accepted. "By the way, Abby wants piano lessons Tuesday after she's finished school. Just so you know." He added nonchalantly.

I shook my head, "Thanks. That's fine, whatever."

He smiled at me and led me out of the meadow and back into the darkness of the wood. The journey back was much the same: I tripped, Edward caught me and we'd carry on. We didn't talk much, just let each other be alone with our thoughts. I was glad we'd come here today and talked about everything we talked about. It wasn't particularly hard for me to divulge my past with Jacob; all in all we'd been pretty happy with some kinks in the road. Edward's marriage sounded awful, and it must have been difficult having to explain what happened again, that can't seriously get much easier with time.

I had been curious for a while now as to why he and Tanya had split up. I suppose it wouldn't have been fair to expect him to tell me everything when I hadn't told him the whole truth about Abby's father. It must have been hard opening up to me when he found it hard to trust people anyway, but I was so grateful that he deemed me worthy of it. It made me love him that much more.

After a while more of walking - or falling in my case - we made it back to the car before it got dark. Edward held my door open and I got in, smiling at him in thanks. He walked round the other side and smiled at me.

We drove in silence, apart from the quiet melody of Clair De Lune playing in the background, giving a relaxed atmosphere.

Before I knew it, Edward had pulled up outside my house, sensing I should probably be back to keep an eye on Abby.

I turned to him, only seeing his silhouette in the darkness, "Thank you so much for today, Edward."

"Your welcome, Bella. I needed it, really. I love you."

I smiled, "I love you too." I said and we leaned across the seats to give each other a good night kiss. "You want to come in?" I asked.

He hesitated briefly, "I probably shouldn't tonight. I will, soon though."

I nodded, "Good night, Edward."

"Good night, Beautiful." he replied as I stepped out the car. I watched him drive away with a smile on my face before I headed to my house.

I came in through the front door when I heard the banging from upstairs. How fucking brilliant, I knew what that meant. Was it karma for when Abby walked in on me?

"Okay, kids, I'm home." I shouted up to them, hoping they could hear the firmness in my voice, "Can you try to keep it down?"


	14. Chapter 14 Bonding Time

**Important Author's note about this chapter at the bottom. This one was fun to write.**

Chapter 14 - Bonding Time

**Edward's POV**

"No, no, that's the C. You want to press the next one." I instructed.

She huffed irritably, "This is so fucking complicated."

I had to hold my tongue, wanting to scold her for cursing; it was odd how since meeting Abby, my fatherly instincts that I never knew I possessed had kicked in. I could understand Jasper and Emmett's connection to her now. Nevertheless, she was sixteen years old, and me telling her not to do something would probably be ineffective and just piss her off even more. She had been in a relatively bad mood for the whole hour she had been here so far.

"Your doing really well for your first time," I complimented, hoping I didn't sound too patronising, "but let's take a break for now, okay?"

She sighed softly before offering me a small smile and nod in agreement. She pressed down gently on a couple of the piano keys and stood up.

"Can I go grab a drink?" She asked.

"It's alright," I replied, "I'll get some, I was going to grab us some snacks or something anyway."

"Alright. Thanks." She said and turned towards my living room, pulling her phone out of her jeans pocket as she went.

I shook my head as I turned to the kitchen with a smirk on my face; she had been itching to do that since we sat down at the piano.

I looked through my fridge and my cupboards unsure of what I was looking for. I didn't really know what Abby liked and after a few minutes, I realised I probably should have asked.

I sighed and decided I should just get something simple. I grabbed a couple of bottles of water out the fridge and some pretzels before heading into my sitting room.

Abby was sat cross legged in the middle of my sofa, phone in hand, head angled down towards it. I cleared my throat to get her attention and she looked up at me a little startled before she smiled.

"Um…" I said embarrassed, "I probably should have asked before but I didn't know what you liked so," I paused to hold up the water and pretzels, "here you go!"

She laughed softly, "Very original." she teased and reached out to take her share from me, "Thank you."

I nodded, "Your welcome."

She looked up at me before she moved across to one side of the sofa, giving me room to sit down. I perched at the opposite end and angled myself towards her as I leaned against the arm rest. She opened the water bottle and took a large gulp of the cool liquid.

"Thirsty?" I asked with a grin.

"Yep." She replied simply and looked around the room. It appeared she was analysing the photos on the wall. There weren't a great deal though; mainly a couple of my family and various ones from certain milestones in my life.

Her eyes lingered of the one of my parents and I at my high school graduation. I had been so thrilled to finally have finished school and this was evident in the photo; I had the biggest shit-eating grin on my face. My parents stood on either side of me, smiling proudly, each with a hand on one of my shoulders. I noticed how my parents looked barely older than I was then. My father's hair was still completely golden in colour and my mother's was still the soft caramel shade it had always been. They didn't have any wrinkles and there wasn't any hint that they were twenty something years older than I am.

Abby leaned forward slightly as if to get a better look at it, angling her head to the side. "Are those your parents?" she asked curiously.

"Yeah, they are." I answered.

"Wow."

I furrowed my brow, confused, "Wow?" I asked.

"Yeah. It's just," she paused and blushed, it was remarkable how much more like Bella she looked when she did that than normal, "you have a really… good looking family."

I smirked. It may be vain and arrogant, but that I knew. My brothers and I have always had a heightened amount of female attention, whether we actually wanted it or not. I also remembered back at school how many of my male friends had commented how much of a MILF my mum was - which really just made me cringe - or how my female friends had stared almost longingly at my father. In fact, my parents still looked almost exactly the same, the only difference now being the slight greying of their hair and the hardly noticeable laughter lines.

"Well, thank you." I replied to Abby's comment in the only way I knew how.

She turned to face me with a raised eyebrow, "How old was your dad there?" she asked seriously.

I rolled my eyes and did the math. My dad was twenty two when I was born, and I was eighteen when this picture was taken… "He was forty." I replied and she raised her eyebrows.

"Fuck me." I just managed to hear her whisper under her breath as she turned her attention back to the photograph.

I laughed and added, "My mother was forty as well, just by the way."

She blushed and turned back to me, "They don't look forty. No where near it." she exclaimed in awe.

"No they don't. They hardly look any different now even, even though they're nearing sixty."

Abby's eyes widened considerably, "Wow." she paused, "Not being funny or anything, and don't repeat this to anyone but - if you don't mind me saying - your dad was a bit of a DILF."

It was my turn for my eyes to widen before I burst into hysterical laughter. The way she had said it was so serious it _was _funny. Combine that with the fact that this sixteen year old girl had just referred to a sixty year old man as a DILF and I couldn't contain my laughter.

"What?" she whined in a high pitched voice, "It's not funny!"

I took a few deep breaths that managed to control my laughter, "I'm sorry but it is." I shook my head, "Never heard that one before. Sorry. I just cant believe you just called my father a DILF."

She huffed and crossed her arms, "Oh shut up. Just 'cause you haven't heard of that expression before."

I flashed her a quick smile. Just because I hadn't heard it before didn't mean I didn't realise the phrase existed, it was just odd to hear it said. "I was pretty convinced it was an actual phrase. I mean if you get the phrase MILF, then DILF must exist." I explained logically.

She cringed, "Can you not use the term MILF? Please."

I raised an eyebrow at her, not understanding what was wrong with me saying it, "Why not?"

She covered her face with one of her hands as she responded, "Because your with my mum… and you must think of my mum in that way - I mean I've walked in on you almost… being that way. So basically, don't say it because it just reminds me that you want to fuck my mum."

My jaw hung slack at what she had said. The order of her words may have been a little messy and confusing, but I got the point of them, and for her to bring up sex - even in the slightest form - surprised me. I opened and closed my mouth like a fish trying to respond, but I couldn't think of anything to say. I gaped in shock at her words. When she finally moved her hand from her face, she noticed my expression and blushed, turning to look away back at the graduation photo.

After probably a couple of minutes, I had recovered from the shock and cleared my throat, "Well… sorry, I won't use it anymore. But you did say it about my dad." I pointed out.

She licked her lips and hesitated in thought before she replied looking strangely rather smug, "Yeah, but with no consequence."

I pursed my lips, not wanting to really confirm her comment, so just replied simply, "Touché."

She grinned, and stood up, picking up the water bottle and swallowing what was left, "Okay, so now that I've totally owned you, can we get back to the piano now?"

I nodded grateful for the subject change and got up to led her back to the piano.

We took a seat on the piano stool once again and Abby looked down at the instrument almost anxiously.

"Right," I started, "let's see what you remember from earlier." I paused deliberating, "Press down on the A."

She hesitated whilst hovering her hand over the keys. I waited patiently for her to figure it out. When her hand finally came down on a key, I smiled, "Good. Now the C." I instructed and once again, she got the right one.

This continued until we had recapped all the main notes, most of which she had gotten correctly.

I was contemplating teaching her how to play a simple song when she asked, "Would you play something?" she paused, "I just want to hear what it should sound like." she added almost embarrassedly.

I hesitated at the thought of actually playing piano again, considering it had been a while since I had before I nodded and licked my lips in thought. I wasn't sure if I should stick to something basic or show her a further extent of how well I could play.

I took a deep breath and began to play. It was the first melody I had ever composed that I was completely happy with, which I had written for my mum. My fingers flowed easily across the keys; the number of times I had performed this song meant I knew it off by heart. It was odd how this still felt natural. I couldn't understand how much I had missed playing until I tried it again.

A wave of guilt hit me when I realised that I hadn't even played for Bella yet. I beat it back though, knowing I still had all the time in the world to do so and that I would as soon as possible.

The music came to an end and I allowed my fingers to linger over the last note before I moved my hands to rest them on my lap.

After a moment of silence, Abby said "That was…" she struggled to think of the right word, "amazing, Edward!"

I looked up to see her wide eyed and smiling widely. I smiled back at her and shrugged before running my hand through my hair. I noticed how - much like every time I did this in here presence, rare as it was - her gaze followed my hand.

I laughed and she snapped out of her trance, blushing furiously.

"Um…" she started timidly, "did you write that?" she asked, referring back to the song I had played.

"Yeah." I confirmed, "The first one I wrote that was satisfactory."

She shook her head, "Much more than satisfactory." she complimented, "How old were you when you wrote it?"

I raised my eyes to look upwards, trying to remember the answer to that question, "I think I was about fifteen."

She gasped, "Wow. Why didn't you go pro?"

I sighed, "It was never something I wanted to do as a profession." I explained, "Just a hobby. I've wanted to be a doctor since before I can remember, no matter how good I became at the piano."

Abby nodded, "Fair enough."

Not needing to say anything further, the two of us fell into a comfortable silence. I absentmindedly ran my fingers along the keys of the piano while Abby combed hers through her hair.

Our silence was interrupted by a soft buzzing that caused Abby to jump in surprise. She reached into the pocket of her jeans and pulled out her phone that was vibrating in her hand. She smiled shyly at me and apologised, "Sorry. Would it be alright if I take this?"

I nodded and waved my arm nonchalantly to show that I had no problem with it.

She pressed the call button and brought the phone up to her ear and answered, "Hello?"

I stood up and headed out to the kitchen trying to give her some privacy. I leaned against my counter and pulled out my own phone and noticed I had an unread text:

_From: Bella_

_How's everything going?  
__I love you. B xx_

I smiled widely at her message. Just seeing her name on my screen made me happy and the little 'I love you' she had added made it even better. I pressed the reply button and told her that everything was going fine so far and that I loved her. Once it had sent, I pushed the phone back into my pocket and crossed my arms.

"I'm at Edward's" I heard Abby say to whoever she was talking too. Despite not wanting to eavesdrop, I couldn't help the curiosity that stirred within me, besides, I could hear her anyway. "No, my mum's boyfriend." She said moments later sounding slightly anxious.

There was a slight pause as I expected the other person was replying to her, "Yeah, I do… can you hold on a minute?" She asked and I heard the stool scrape against the floor as she stood.

She came into the kitchen looking for me with the phone held away from her ear, "Could I go talk in the garden?" she asked me.

I smiled, I liked that she respected me enough to ask me to do certain things instead of just doing as she pleased. It wasn't as if it was necessary for her to ask my permission to do anything, but I appreciated it nonetheless. "Of course." I said and motioned towards the door at the back of the room which led to the garden.

She nodded and went towards it. When she pulled it open she stopped and turned to me, "Oh my God, you have a pool in your garden!" she exclaimed and I laughed, remembering that was the same choice of words Bella had used when she first saw it.

I shrugged and she smiled before turning back towards the door and heading outside, pulling the door closed as she went.

I sighed and walked slowly to sit on my sofa and watch some television while I waited. I flicked onto an episode of 'Scrubs' - it was a good fucking show - and relaxed into the cushions.

Some time into the programme, I heard the back door slam and I was instantly more alert. I turned my head towards the noise and waited for Abby to emerge from the kitchen. When she did however, my mind flooded with concern. She stormed through my house until she came to almost literally throw herself down on the sofa next to me. Her cheeks were flushed and stained with tears which still fell from her eyes. I quickly reached for the remote and switched off the TV.

"Are you okay?" I asked awkwardly.

"Do I look okay?" she snapped at me, making it clear that asking such an obvious question really wasn't appreciated.

"What happened?" I asked, concern thick in my voice and my protective instinct flaring.

"Nothing." she answered unconvincingly and she sniffed loudly as she reached up to wipe her cheeks dry with no effect.

I reached over and placed a hand on her shoulder, not sure of what would comfort her. "It's obviously not nothing." I said softly and squeezed her shoulder gently. When she didn't reply I continued, "Who was on the phone."

She bought her legs up so the heels of her feet were resting on the sofa and wrapped her arms around them, resting her chin on her knees in a comforting position. "Chris" she whispered, "my boyfriend." she added, even though I didn't need to be informed of that.

I nodded, "What did he want?" I asked softly, trying to get her to talk about what was upsetting her. It was better than her keeping it inside. I at least wanted her to be ready to tell someone, even if she chose not to confide in me.

She shook her head, "I don't want to talk about it."

I sighed, "I know, but you need to let it out. You don't have to talk to me if you don't want to." I assured her, "Just make sure you tell someone."

She blew out a huff of air and turned her head towards me so her cheek was now resting against her knees. She looked so young and defenceless and I didn't know how to make her feel better. She bit her bottom lip and blinked her eyes rapidly in an attempt to stop the flow of her tears. "If I told you, could it be like… that patient/doctor thing?" she asked quietly.

"Confidentiality?" I asked and she nodded. "I suppose…" I answered slowly, not liking where this was going. She may just have said that so I wouldn't tell anyone, but I had a gut feeling that it was something more than that. It was making me a little uneasy.

"And you won't tell my mum either?" she asked nervously. She looked fucking terrified and - not being able to hold back the sudden wave of fatherly, protective instinct - I wrapped my arm around her shoulders. She leaned into the crook in my arm and let out a shaky breath.

"I won't say anything to your mum." I confirmed, hoping that what she was about to tell me wasn't bad enough to insist that she did.

She nodded and in a hushed voice as though afraid someone would hear, she explained everything from when she first started seeing Chris. How everything started off fine and she was happy, up until recently when everything had changed. When she eventually got to the point of what had her so upset, my hands clenched instinctively into fists. I wanted to beat the shit out of this Chris kid, who the hell did he think he was?

Hurting someone who I considered to almost be family was not something I took lightly.

Several minutes had passed since she had finished talking and I still hadn't said anything. I was furious and I didn't want to scare her anymore than she already was by lashing out.

I pinched the bridge of my nose and closed my eyes, taking several deep breaths to calm my nerves. When I felt like I was able to control myself, I opened my eyes and angled my head towards her.

"I'm sorry that you've had to go through all this, I really am." I said sincerely, "I wont tell a soul, not even your mum," I enforced the promise again, "but you have to say something." I insisted.

She lifted her head, "Why?"

"She deserves to know. You're her daughter and she loves and cares for you." I explained.

She sighed once again and wiped her face fiercely with the palms of her hands until her cheeks were no longer damp and her tears had been put under control, "I know your right." she admitted, "I just don't know how."

I ran my hand through my hair, unsure of how to answer her. I licked my lips, "Tell her what you told me." I said eventually, "She'll understand."

She shook her head, "She'll be so mad." she argued.

I pursed my lips, "Maybe slightly. But more so at him than at you." I reasoned; hoping she would understand my logic.

"She won't understand why I'm with him. At least… not by the time I've told her everything." She argued further.

"I'm having trouble figuring that out myself." I admitted.

She shrugged and answered simply, "I love him."

I froze. There was no way of arguing with that without sounding completely hypocritical. Love was something I fully understood. It makes you do and think things that are irrational; particularly when it involves the person you love. It makes you want to do anything to make that person happy, even if it means you suffer in the process, which was exactly what Abby was doing.

I nodded in understanding and we sat like this for a while longer. I looked up at the clock and saw it was 8:30pm and figured it was about time I took Abby home. I stood and motioned for her to follow me to the car.

We spent the drive back in silence, I was allowing her to sort through her thoughts and think about her situation logically. I couldn't imagine having to deal with so much at the age of sixteen. I wasn't entirely sure of where she was going to go from here, but I just hoped she knew how many people would be behind her no matter what happened, myself included.

When I pulled up outside Bella's house, something was off. I wasn't sure what it was, but there was something… different.

"Oh my God!" Abby exclaimed. I looked over to her, she was smiling widely, though her eyes showed she was nervous. I saw she was looking slightly into the distance and I followed her gaze, to a Volkswagen Rabbit several cars down from mine.

"Who's car is that?" I asked with a furrowed brow.

"My dad's. My dad's here." She told me almost giddily before she suddenly slumped down in the seat.

"What?" I asked confused at her sudden mood change.

"I'm gonna have to tell him too, aren't I?" she asked sadly, probably already knowing the answer.

I nodded slowly, looking at her.

She nodded once almost seeming determined and sat up. She plastered a smile on her face as she looked out at Jacob's car, "I guess... I better do this thing."

**Okay, soo Edward knows what's going on with Abby.  
I realise some people may be annoyed/disappointed or whatever that I haven't actually revealed what's going on yet, but I promise, the next chapter you WILL find out.  
It was just important for the way this story works that a) You found out when Bella did and b) Edward found out first.  
And yes, if you hadn't guessed already, Jacob enters for a second time next chapter.  
I'll shut up now. Thanks for reading!**


	15. Chapter 15 Hearbreak

**Wow, finally updated. Sorry, life's crazy and everything. But hey, who's ready to find out what's up with Abby? I know I am... :)**

Chapter 15 - Heartbreak

**Bella's POV**

I came home early from work - all thanks to Rose - to enjoy my unusually silent house. As soon as lunch time rolled around, off I went. As soon as I walked in my door, I ran upstairs, changed into my baggy sweats and massive hoodie and curled up in front of the television, watching shit day time TV.

I lay in the foetal position on the sofa, with my head resting on the arm rest. I was glad to have the house to myself and being able to just relax.

I was broken out of my television induced trance by my phone vibrating beside my head. I looked at the screen curiously to see the name 'Jacob' flashing furiously before me.

I smiled widely and pressed the call button, answering the buzzing, "Hey, Jake."

"Hey, Bells." He replied with a smile clear in his voice as always, "I know you're probably busy at work but-"

"No, it's fine." I cut him off, "Rose let me leave early." I explained.

"_She_ let you off early? Rosalie Hale doing something sort of nice for some one else? Alert the papers! It's breaking news!" he exclaimed sarcastically.

I rolled my eyes. I never understood why, but Jacob and Rosalie had never got along. He saw her as a stupid stuck up blonde and she saw him as an immature dog, neither of them giving each other a chance to reveal their true selves. It was rare that the two would be in the same room as one another, but when they were they showed the maturity that would put a toddler to shame.

"Yes, Jake. If you gave her a chance, you'd realise she is actually a great person." I tried to reason despite knowing it was pointless.

"Whatever." He said nonchalantly, dismissing my comment completely, "Anyway, there was actually a reason I called."

I waited for an explanation that never came. After several moments silence I asked, "Care to enlighten me?"

"I thought you'd never ask." He said and I laughed at his high pitched tone of voice, "Well, I'm very much in the neighbourhood and was wondering if I could come over in a bit and pay you and Abby a visit." he paused briefly, "Actually - I mean if that's okay with you anyway - I could be there in about 10 minutes."

I looked up at the clock, it was 2:50pm. I sighed quietly, wanting both my afternoon to myself but also wanting to see Jake. The part of me that wanted to see Jacob was the dominant one, so I accepted, telling him I'd see him in a few, and hung up.

I combed my fingers through my hair and stood up slowly, stretching my arms and my legs out. They were stiff from being compressed for an extended amount of time.

I hovered on the stairs, trying to decide if it was worth changing out of my sweats into something more presentable. I licked my lips and turned my head so I was facing the door and decided against doing so; Jacob had seen me in it all before and he would be here soon anyway.

Before long, there was a knock on the door and I walked to it and pulled it open, the sight of Jacob caused me to grin hugely. He was wearing his signature, teeth bearing grin and his arms were held out, waiting for me to fill the space there. I threw myself into his arms and he hugged me tightly. It was odd to think how much I missed my best friend, even though it hadn't been that long since we had last seen each other.

"You alright there Bells?" He asked laughing.

I nodded and pulled myself out of his embrace and smiled up at him widely, "Yep. I'm just happy to see you." I paused to pull him inside out of the cold air, "I've missed you." I told him honestly.

He pulled me to him again to quickly peck the top of my head before releasing me to pull off his coat. "I've missed you too, Bells."

I pulled my hand through my hair and looked towards the kitchen. Knowing Jake would probably need it, I headed towards it to make the two of us some coffee. Realising what I was doing, Jake followed me eagerly; boy did he love his caffeine.

It was after he had tried to help me for the millionth time that I figured it was time to put a stop to it and get him to sit the fuck down; he was the guest here after all. He attempted to subtly reach around me to reach the kettle where the water had just come to a boil, but I managed to slap his hand away before he could touch it.

"Aw c'mon, let me help." He whined childishly with his arms crossed over his chest.

I shook my head, "No."

"Why not?"

I turned to face him and - knowing that this was his weakness for whatever reason - I pouted stubbornly, "You're the guest." I explained in a voice almost as whiny as his. If that didn't get him to just let me do my thing, I didn't know what would. It wasn't that I disliked having help from time to time, but it was a cup of coffee, I didn't want people to try and help me with something like that. What can I say, I have weird pet peeves.

He narrowed his eyes at me in mock anger, "Why do you do that? You know I have no chance against you when you do that."

I grinned and stuck my tongue out immaturely at him, "That's exactly my reason why." I told him and he huffed over-dramatically and plopped down on one of the wooden chairs.

I finished making our coffee in silence and carried the mugs over to the island he had sat by, before grabbing a stool and sitting beside him. He lifted his to his lips and took a long drink before placing it back on the counter top. I was certain the only reason he could do that was because his taste buds had been burnt to the point where they were no longer useful.

"When does Abby get in from school?" Jake asked curiously.

"Usually around four. She'll be a bit later than that today though." I told him.

"Oh? How come?"

I hesitated, deliberating whether or not I should tell him what she was doing, but decided I may as well, considering she would probably tell him anyway. "She's going to Edward's"

His whole frame stiffened at the mention of Edward's name. I bit my lips nervously, waiting for him to lose it; he'd barely met Edward let alone talked to him, but there was something Jake had against him that I couldn't put my finger on.

"Right." He said, his tone hard and irritated, "What's she doing there?" he asked shortly after a brief silence.

I sighed heavily, "He's just teaching her to play piano."

He turned his whole body towards me, with a raised eyebrow, making his expression look less tense, "He plays piano?" he asked, curiously and I nodded in response.

He pursed his lips slightly, looking as though he was debating saying anything. Eventually, he relaxed his form and shrugged, deciding not to say whatever it was he was thinking about. I didn't question him on it - I'd had enough of this conversation - instead, taking a sip of my coffee, keeping my eyes on him over my mug.

"See something you like?" Jake teased as he caught me looking at him.

I could feel that familiar almost burning sensation in my cheeks that caused me to go red as I rolled my eyes at him, I wasn't gonna lie; Jacob was handsome and his body was something of a work of art but, whilst he knew I thought that way, it wasn't something I still liked to admit out loud.

"No, not really." I answered, trying to sound convincing.

He laughed loudly, "You know, you can't lie for shit, right?"

I pouted and glared down at the counter top, slightly embarrassed, "Yeah, so I've been

told."

"Aw, poor baby." He cooed sarcastically before wrapping his arms around my shoulders tightly and resting his chin on the top of my head. I refused to outwardly acknowledge him and continued to keep my gaze downwards, despite feeling self-conscious. "You know," Jake added, "if it helps - well, even if it doesn't - I definitely like what I see when I look at you." he told me sincerely.

I sighed in defeat and wrapped my arms around him in return, "Okay, I feel better now."

He laughed loudly and released me from his hold, allowing me to finish the slowly cooling coffee that sat in front of me. Once I had, not giving me the chance to realise what he was doing, Jacob grabbed his mug and quickly pried mine from my hands and took them to wash.

I tapped my foot rhythmically against the floor in impatience, waiting for him to turn around. I crossed my arms as he did and he grinned triumphantly at me. I rolled my eyes but couldn't help but grin back at him; his smile was infectious.

I stood up, shaking my head at him before turning away towards my living room and soft sofa, knowing Jacob would follow. I sat down, assuming the same position I had before Jacob had called, waiting for him to join me.

It was several minutes before I saw him come through the door and sit beside my legs. He grabbed the control and changed channels - I hadn't realised I'd left the TV on - before placing it gently back on the coffee table and leaning back, in a relaxing position. I softly kicked his leg for changing the channel despite the fact I wasn't watching it and in return, he poked me on the bottom of my foot. My automatic response was to pull it away; I was extremely ticklish.

Jacob laughed, keeping his eyes glued to the television as I curled myself up further in a pointless attempt to get my foot out of his reach. Without even looking, he grabbed my foot and pulled it towards him so my leg was stretched out towards him. Smiling slyly, he ran the tip of his finger softly and slowly up and down the middle of the bottom of my foot. I fought to get away from it as I laughed at the tickling feeling, but his grip was strong and I couldn't release myself. I was giggling uncontrollably and there wasn't any hint that he was going to let up any time soon, so I tried with my free leg to swat him away.

It didn't work; he simply stopped the torture so he could grasp that one and ran his thumbs up and down instead. Although, after the initial sensitive feeling, it became actually quite relaxing. I pulled my hands up and placed them behind my head so I was using them like a pillow.

Jacob turned his gaze to mine and smiled softly. I returned a small smile before finally turning my attention outwardly to the television, but inwardly, my mind was wandering aimlessly.

I didn't know why, but I felt a little guilty for spending time like this with Jacob whilst Edward was preparing for my daughter's arrival. It wasn't like this whole teasing, hugging, foot rubbing thing was necessarily anything romantic or flirty for Jacob and I like it might have been for some couples, that's just how we were. It was something we did before we got together, while we were together and after we were together.

I huffed and sat up, reaching over to hold the control for the television and turned it off, I shouldn't be thinking like this and I needed something to take my mind off of it. Jacob looked at me questioningly, waiting for me to explain why I turned off the television.

"Got tired of it." I explained with a shrug, "I want to talk to you. I don't get to do it nearly often enough."

He smiled and nodded, turning towards me, "I know what you mean."

I grinned happily at him and readjusted myself so I was on my knees and sat back on my ankles, "I'm guessing you didn't have work today if you managed to get here?" I asked.

"Nope." He started, "Sam told me to take a break, because I" he made speech marks with his fingers, "'work too damn much', you'd think that'd be a good thing." he said and I chuckled. It sounded like the sort of thing Sam would say. Jacob started working for him at the mechanics in La Push when we first got together so he could start saving for a house and essentials for Abby.

Sam was basically his mentor from day one and looked out for Jacob more than would be expected. He told him to work hard, but not too hard. That was the kind of guy he was; one who cared more about the well being of his colleagues and employees than getting too far ahead with his business. Having been down the garage a couple of times, I had seen how much that helped with a good working atmosphere. They all - Sam, Jacob, the guys: Jared, Paul, Quil and Embry - treated each other as brothers and it worked.

"You know, you do spend a lot of time down there, even when you don't need to be." I commented with a shrug, "Need to get out more." I teased and he glared at me briefly before smiling.

"I get out all the time." He stated stubbornly.

I shook my head, "_Besides_," I stressed, "Work, visiting Billy, visiting me and Abby and going to see the guys from work."

He creased his forehead in thought and I decided to put him out of his misery. I leaned over and ran my finger across his brow, trying to smooth out the crease. "It's okay, I still love you anyway." I said casually.

He locked his gaze with mine, a burning intensity reached his eyes, but I couldn't put my finger on why. However, before I could question him on it, I grew uncomfortable under the pressure of his gaze and cleared my throat before turning my eyes elsewhere. The silence we were sat in became increasingly uncomfortable. I cast my eyes downwards and began picking imaginary lint from my clothes.

I felt movement in the couch and looked up to see Jake standing, looking down at me. "What are you doing?" I asked hesitantly.

He shook his head quickly as if clearing it, "Just going to the bathroom." he told me before turning away and heading towards said room.

I sighed loudly; slightly frustrated that for whatever, unknown reason to me, things had very suddenly become tense. Had I said or done something that I shouldn't? Something I should have said perhaps? I had no idea. Jake and I had _never_ had this whole awkward, tense thing before, not even when we argued. It was always just natural.

I combed my hands through my hair and leaned forward to reach for my phone which was sat alongside other things on the coffee table. Looking at the time, I assumed Abby would be with Edward by now and I figured I may as well check on them… and wanted an excuse to hear from him too I had to admit. I opened up a new blank message and began to type:

_To: Edward_

_How's everything going?_

_I love you. B xx_

I pressed the 'send' button and closed my phone before carelessly dropping it back on the table with a loud thud.

Jacob came back in and smiled softly at me before resuming his position back on the sofa. I looked curiously at him before I lay on my back and tentatively rested my feet in his lap. He looked down at them briefly before running his hands along the top of them, up to the bottom of my calves and then back again.

"Jake?" I asked and he hummed in response, "What is it?"

He turned his head to me with furrowed eyebrows, "What do you mean?"

I licked my lips, trying to think of the best way to word my question, "What was wrong… just then? Before you went to the bathroom I mean."

He turned his attention back to my feet and remained silent for a few moments. He released a long breath before he answered, "Just… old memories die-hard y'know?"

It took me a minute to register what he was talking about. I had told him I loved him - and I did, he was my best friend - just before the awkwardness started. Guilt was beginning to creep up on me; I knew Jacob still had feelings for me - he made no secret of it - and it was almost as though I was abusing it for my own selfish needs. I knew I should give him space to sort his feelings, but I hadn't allowed him to because I would miss him too much.

I bit my lip and started to move my feet from his lap, but again he grasped them before I could move too much. I tilted my head to the side and he smiled more genuinely at me than before.

I returned the smile though I wasn't sure how genuine it was, before I said "I'm sorry, Jake."

He nodded at me, "You have nothing to be sorry for."

* * *

After I had made Jake and I some dinner and saved some for Abby to eat later, we sat back down in the sitting room watching television and waiting for our daughter's arrival.

It wasn't too long a wait before we heard the front door quickly slam open and shut again. There was a moments silence before she called, "Mum?" she paused briefly, "Dad?" she added a little more hesitantly, as if unsure he was really here.

"In here." Jake and I called at the same time as we stood up, also in sync.

Abby came into view and she stared with a smile at Jacob before she ran full speed and threw herself into his arms. I couldn't help but smile at the exchange, much as I did every time they saw each other. She really was a 'daddy's girl' at heart.

"What are you doing here?" She asked him excitedly, not really interested in his reasoning.

"I came to see you, didn't I?" He said in a blatant tone to which she merely smirked and hugged him tighter before finally releasing him.

He looked down at her, as if making an observation and she bit her lip nervously. His brow was furrowed and his lips pursed, as if he couldn't identify something and it was irritating him.

"Have you been crying?" He asked gently and she visibly stiffened.

"No." She replied unconvincingly. As bad as it was, I couldn't help but be a little irritated that she found it effortless to lie to me, but a challenge she'd rather not tackle to lie to Jacob. Before I could get too into that line of thought, I realised what it was she was lying about and a wave of concern passed through me.

"Don't lie to me, Abby." He said both sternly and softly, "What's the matter, baby?" he asked.

He breathing became shallow and fast as she hung her head with her eyes tightly closed. She wrapped one arm around herself and the other she brought up in order to chew her fingernails. I fought my urge to comfort her as I knew it was now Jacob she sought, but he would not go to her until she asked for comfort, knowing that was how she preferred it.

After several moments, she allowed her arms to drop to her sides and she sniffed loudly. She raised her head to present her reddened, tearstained cheeks to the both of us and my heart broke at the sight. I'd never seen her look so hurt and lost in her entire life and I was at a loss to know what to do. I could see the same feelings in Jacob's eyes too, just as inexperienced as me as to what to do next.

"I'm so sorry, Daddy." She whispered before breaking down into floods of tears and almost folding in on herself as a form of protection.

Jacob pulled her to him and wrapped his arms tightly around her. His hands stroked her hair as she hid her face in his chest and he pulled her down on the sofa with him, allowing her to curl up into his side. Unable to do much else, I sat down beside them and stroked her hair alongside Jacob.

I hated seeing Abby this way. It reminded me of when she really was still my little girl - inside and out - and she would cry because she'd fallen over and scraped her knee or she'd lost her favourite toy. She would come to us, red faced with tears pouring down her cheeks in search of a hug and we'd end up like this: with her curled up into Jacob's side and me offering what I could from the position I was in. This was a different situation though; she hadn't fallen over or lost her toys. She almost never cried anymore, and that told me everything.

Jacob hushed her soothingly as he continued to stroke her hair with me.

"What are you sorry for, Baby?" Jacob asked after she had calmed down a little.

She shook her head, "Your going to hate me." she answered hysterically before turning to face me, "You both will, but I'm so, so sorry." she managed to finish before the tears took over and she was unable to form a coherent sentence.

Jacob looked over her head at me with a melancholic expression formed on his face and I returned the look, feeling the same way.

He kissed her hair and I wrapped my arm around her tightly, "We could never hate you." I told her honestly.

"She's right, never." Jacob added, "We love you. What's wrong?"

Abby took several deep breaths and allowed more tears to fall before she released herself from our holds. She leaned forward and placed her elbows on her thighs, resting her head in her palms and hiding her face from us. I placed my hand on the small of her back and she flinched slightly before she moved herself back to that original position.

"I'm scared." Abby admitted in a whisper.

Jacob leaned forward slightly, "Of what?"

She took a deep, shaky breath, "Of how you'll react." She paused, "Of how Chris reacted," I noticed how she said _reacted_ rather than _will react,_ "how everyone will react."

I saw Jacob looking worriedly at her, wanting to take whatever was causing her so much hurt and crushing it until it was unable to affect her anymore. I ran my hand up and down her back as I asked, "How did Chris react?"

She wiped her eyes without consequence and ran her hand down her face, "He was mad." she answered without emotion.

I could feel the anger boiling up inside, what the hell was he thinking, getting angry when she was clearly hurt by this. I could see Jacob clenching his fists at his sides. "How mad?" He asked, trying to stay calm.

She hesitated, "It was frightening." she answered and Jacob released a sound that was similar to a growl. I reached over and placed my hand on his arm, hoping to calm him, though it had little effect; possibly not helped by the fact that I wasn't exactly calm myself.

"What did he do?" I asked, luckily able to hold on to my façade of calm.

She shook her head, "It's not important… at the moment." she answered quietly.

Jacob and I shared a confused look before I wrapped my arms tightly around her and asked, "Well, what is important."

For several minutes she was silent, just sitting in my embrace. Eventually however, she pulled my arms off of her and stood up, turning to face Jacob and I, looking completely terrified. "Okay." she said, not actually looking at either of us, but at the wall above our heads, "I'm… I'm." she stopped, rubbing her face in irritation, "I think… I'm pregnant." she admitted and my jaw went slack.

My mind was working in overdrive. I wanted to have misheard her, desperately. She can't be pregnant. She was 16 years old, not even close to finishing school, let alone being ready for a baby. Besides, I knew she was far more responsible than that. I had told her to be more responsible than this.

"You… what?" I asked stupidly.

The tears came down fast once again as she apologised profusely, "I'm so, sorry, Mum. So sorry. I didn't mean for this to happen. I'm such an idiot. I'm sorry."

Jacob stood up and embraced her once again. "Shush, it's okay, it's okay." He comforted her, "You're not in trouble, we're not mad. Calm down."

I shook my head, trying to block the other two out. I wasn't ready to hear my daughter say she was pregnant. She wasn't ready. No one was fucking ready for this and I could safely say that Jacob was on his own if he thought I wasn't mad.

"Hold on a minute." I snapped angrily, but before I could say anything further, Jacob turned to look pointedly at me, "Bella." he warned and I huffed and leaned back on the sofa.

"Why don't you go clean yourself up and calm yourself down and we can talk about it together okay?" he asked caringly and she nodded and headed upstairs to the bathroom.

He watched sadly as she walked away before he crossed his arms in annoyance and turned his gaze on me, "Don't you think you're overreacting, just a bit?" he asked.

I scoffed, raising my eyebrows at him, not at all convinced he wasn't at least a little angry or disappointed, "Don't say you're okay with all this." I argued back.

He licked his lips and shook his head, "Of course I'm not," he agreed, "but if you hadn't noticed, she is scared shitless right now. Not the right time for a lecture." he paused, "Who the hell is this Chris guy, anyway?"

I sighed and explained everything I knew about him to Jacob who nodded and hummed at all the right moments. I could tell right away that he didn't approve, and I was glad of that; I didn't particularly approve myself.

"You know, I'm a bit worried about what she said about his reaction." I commented, hoping Jacob would share his opinions on it.

He nodded, "It was one of the things I was planning on talking about."

I released a huff of air and stood up, telling Jake I was going to make us all a cup of coffee before heading into the kitchen. I needed some caffeine, it was surprisingly soothing and I knew Abby would appreciate the gesture too. I pulled out three mugs and placed them on the side, pouring in the boiling water and producing the delicious brew.

I turned around and noticed Jacob and Abby had wandered into the kitchen, taking their seats where Jacob and I had been sat this afternoon. I placed their mugs in front of them and the three of us wrapped our hands around them, seeking the comforting warmth.

I looked at Abby, her hair was pulled back scruffily into a hair tie and, showing her facial features clearly. Her face was still red, though she had managed to clear her tears for the time being but the whites of her eyes were bloodshot from crying. She was hunched over in her chair, holding her coffee up to her face occasionally taking small sips. She had changed into a pair of sweats and a large hoodie that clearly didn't belong to her swallowed up her form.

Jacob placed a reassuring hand on her back as he asked "Are you ready to talk about it?"

She nodded in response and Jacob looked at me for help. I bit my lower lips in thought before I reached across the table to place my hand on her forearm, trying to convey that despite being mad at her lack of responsibility, I was here for her, no matter what happened. "How long have you known?"

Her eyes flickered to mine briefly before returning to look downwards, "I…" she hesitated and took a deep breath, steadying herself, "I've been pretty sure for a couple of weeks." she paused to look briefly at Jacob but once again returned her eyes to the floor, "I kinda had it confirmed today though." she told us.

I nodded briefly. It made sense, her strange behaviour the past few weeks had been out of character and she wouldn't tell anyone what was wrong. I couldn't believe I had missed all the tell-tale signs, though I would have expected her to tell me sooner rather than waiting until now. I needed to tell her how I felt about it all, but assure her that I wasn't going to get into an argument about it… at least not right now.

"You know I'm disappointed." I told her and she nodded slowly, confirming that she knew that already, "I don't really want to talk about that right now, but you know I expected you to be more responsible than that."

She hung her head and Jacob looked at me warningly to stop, and I did. He began stroking her hair again as he asked, "Do you know what you want to do yet?"

A single tear rolled down her cheek as she shook her head. She leaned back into Jacob's side and he put his arm around her again, waiting for her to reply.

"I don't know what to do. I don't want to have to decide this. I'm scared, Dad." She sobbed into his shoulder and he tightened his hold on her, a terrible look of concern and worry etched into his features. I moved my hand down her arm and held her hand and she grasped mine tightly, almost afraid I would let go.

"I know, I know." He cooed, "You don't need to decide yet, but when you're ready, your mother and I will be here for you. We'll help you." he assured her and she nodded before wrapping her arm around him in return.

We sat together quietly for several moments, consumed by our own thoughts. I wanted to know what Chris had to say about it, and why she was so scared by his reaction.

"Abby," I started softly, breaking the silence, "What did Chris say about it? Surely he could help…" I trailed off unconvinced by my own words.

She shook her head, "I said I didn't want to talk about that."

"I know, I just don't understand why." I explained.

"You wouldn't." She answered coldly and both myself and Jacob looked questioningly at her. I could see Jacob tense, sensing that Chris was obviously not good news.

"We can try." Jacob encouraged her. I knew he didn't want to push her, but he also wanted to be able to put a stop to her pain, and that would have been his dominating motive then.

She wiped her eyes free of tears once again and looked upwards, unable to meet either of our gazes, "He was angry. He blamed me for it, said it was my fault." she told us and I felt my whole body tense, waiting for the rest. "He yelled at me for a while, I can hardly remember what he said; I had to tell him over the phone."

"Why?" Jacob asked, his voice hard and rigid.

She pulled her legs up and rested the heels of her feet on the edge of the stool and hugged her knees. Her gaze remained upwards, trying to avoid showing us how hurt and scared she was. "He has a bad temper," she informed us and I gritted my teeth, "he… he…" she paused to steady her stuttering words, "he would have…" she paused and shook her head, "it would have been bad for me."

Jacob flexed his muscles beside her, clenching his fists and glaring down at the table. I was pretty sure of what she was trying to say, but I wanted her to have said it out loud before I started accusing people of anything, especially anything like _this_.

"Why? What would have happened?" I asked her, successfully keeping the anger out of my voice, though it must have been evident in my facial expressions and in the tightness of the hold on her hand.

She locked her gaze with mine, the intense and powerful emotions mixed within her brown orbs could have made even the toughest man break down. She looked like my small, helpless little girl again as she confirmed my fears in a whisper, "He hits me, Mum." and she burst into hysterical tears.

I jumped up from my seat and ran around to her side and enveloped her in my arms. At the same time, Jacob stood up, throwing the stool backwards in anger and paced up and down the length of the kitchen, clenching and unclenching his fists as he muttered curses under his breath. Abby flinched as he did so and my motherly instincts took over.

"Jake!" I snapped at him and he glared at me, "Don't you dare frighten her anymore than she already is." I scolded him, before turning my attention to her and wiping her tears, "It's okay, Baby. I'm sorry I let this happen to you." I said as I felt tears well up in my eyes, feeling completely responsible for it despite having just found out about it.

Jacob came over and knelt down beside her so he was looking u at her. He placed his hands on her knees and looked apologetically at her, "I'm sorry for scaring you, baby. I'm sorry." he paused and asked "Have you told anyone else? You need to call the police. Grandpa Charlie?" he suggested.

She nodded and licked her lips, "Okay, Daddy." she paused and turned to look at me sadly, "Mum," she paused, "I told Edward. Edward knows everything."


	16. Chapter 16 Need

**Thanks for everyone who reviewed the last chapter, I really appreciate it.**

**It's been a little while since I updated, and Im sorry about that, it's a bit of a hectic time of year. Hopefully *fingers crossed* I can get the next chapter up between Christmas and New Year though, that will be fun to write. Anyway, on with the chapter :)**

Chapter 16 - Need

**Edward's POV**

Admittedly, it wasn't exactly the least awkward situation I'd ever been in. I was stood in Bella's doorway, outside, in the fucking gale-force winds, freezing my ass off as I stood face-to-face with her ex husband who was staring me down, refusing to let me inside. Let's just say he didn't look particularly happy to see me here.

I shoved my hands in my pockets and tried to focus on not losing eye contact with him despite feeling brutally uncomfortable; I wasn't going to allow myself to appear weak in front of this huge, big built… muscular - yeah I noticed his body, alright - guy.

I cleared my throat and he raised his eyebrows challengingly at me. I opened my mouth to introduce myself properly to him, but decided against it and promptly shut it again. Instead, I held my hand out to him in greeting, but he simply allowed himself to glance at it before returning his gaze to mine and raising his brow further. I held it in place for several seconds more silence before I realise I was going to have to be the bigger man here and speak up first.

"Edward." I told him simply, not really greeting him, just really getting it out of the way knowing introductions would be done at some point or another. He, however, still failed to respond. I licked my lips, "You must be Jacob."

"Yes." He replied, not shaking my hand or changing his facial expression at all.

After a few more awkward moments, I allowed my hand to drop back to my side and placed it back into my pocket. As I did so, he crossed his arms across his chest and leaned himself against the doorframe, tensing his muscles as he did, I assumed as a warning to me. He turned his head briefly so he was looking into the house before he turned his attention back on me.

"So…" I started slowly, "Can I come in or what?" I asked.

"Or what." He replied hardly, then he gave me a small, tight lipped smile.

I huffed irritably and pinched the bridge of my nose, feeling frustrated then ran my hand through my hair, pulling roughly at the strands. "Look," I said, "I don't think you have the right to tell me if I can or can't come in. last time I checked, this was Bella's house."

He stood up straight once again and looked down at me, "Listen, Edward," he said my name as if it was dirt, causing me to clench my fists, "I don't really see how you have anything to do with this."

I shrugged, "Maybe not, Jacob," I scowled his name in the same tone he did mine, "but Bella asked me to come here, so I suggest you let me in."

I was starting to feel pissed off, who did this guy think he was? I mean, he must have known I was coming, Bella had phoned me little under an hour after I had arrived back home from dropping Abby off, and I knew for a fact Jacob had been here then too. Hell, as soon as Bella had told me she knew and got me to come over, I jumped straight into my car and sped to her home. I had to give it to Abby though, I was expecting her to have delayed telling her parents for a while longer, coming up with some excuse or another that it wasn't the right time to tell them or something. But no, she was far braver than that and I couldn't help but feel proud of her, even now when her father was starting to get on my last nerve.

"Well I suggest you leave me and my family alone." He retorted my comment.

"Your _family_?" I asked sarcastically, getting seriously pissed off with his mere presence, "They're not your family anymore, Jacob."

A flash of hurt spread across his features that knocked me back a bit, I wasn't expecting to see that at all. Maybe what I had said was a little harsh, but quite honestly, Bella was no longer his wife and Abby wasn't his real daughter; he had no more claim to call them his family than I did.

It was then though, that I realised thoroughly what I had said and why it would cause that look of hurt to appear and I felt terrible. To him they always had been, and always would be his family. Bella was his best friend, and Abby was the closest thing he would ever get to a biological child. My eyes widened in embarrassment and shame at the fact that I had let myself stoop as low as I had.

"Look, Jacob, I'm so sorry, I-" I started to apologise before he cut me off.

"They'll always be my family." He said quietly and I nodded before he continued, "But," he paused and said almost begrudgingly, "I suppose I accept your apology. For them."

I nodded my head, not saying anything more that would make me seem like an even bigger asshole. He started back down at me briefly, before he stepped aside and motioned for me to come inside.

"Where are they?" I asked as I stepped in and he closed the door behind me.

He said nothing in response, but walked into the kitchen, I assumed towards Bella and Abby. I hesitated slightly before following him and - as I expected - saw mother and daughter embracing each other with solemn looks on their faces. Neither of them looked up when we entered, lost in their emotions, but, looking over at Jacob, I could see the concern carved into his features.

I stood awkwardly as Jacob approached them and stroked his hand gently over Abby's hair. In response to his touch, she turned her head to look at him, before her eyes drifted over towards where I stood. I gave her a small but sad smile which she tried to return.

When she ducked her head back down, I turned my eyes over to Bella who was looking between Abby and myself almost frantically. My arms ached to hold her; she looked so worried and distressed, she looked almost as though it was her going through it rather than her daughter. It was strange witnessing this huge flurry of emotions: the epic concern and worry from both Jacob and Bella, the sheer fright, embarrassment and confusedness from Abby and yet also the strong, unbeatable surge of love that was clearly evident, even if just from the worry they were emanating.

I felt a bit like an outsider. Like I shouldn't be there. Jacob was Abby's father in every way that mattered and I had only almost kind of been a part of it for a short amount of time. Of course, I did worry for Abby and want what was best for her, but it wasn't the same connection, I couldn't be completely there for her; I hardly even knew how to comfort her yet.

I knew the only reason I was there was because I was the first person Abby had confided in about her ordeal, and that was fine. I just wish I knew what to do now. At least that way I would have something better to do than stand here fidgeting, looking like a nervous wreck.

I involuntarily released a huff of air and all three of them whipped their heads around to look at me. I smiled apologetically at them for reasons I didn't actually know before I hung my head slightly,

I heard a soft, sensitive sigh that could have only come from Bella and I looked back up at her. She was looking down at where her and Abby's hands were linked as she bit down on her lower lip. Hesitantly, she lifted her gaze to meet mine and we smiled softly and sadly at each other.

"So," Bella started, "what can we do?" she asked me.

"About what?" I asked confusedly, wanting to get all the facts right. I didn't even know why I was here.

"About this." She said in an obvious tone as she gestured towards Abby, who looked up and glared slightly at her mother.

"Not 'it'." Abby complained in a low tone, though I suspected had she been in a more cheerful mood, would have been more whiny than anything else.

I noticed Jacob smirk out the corner of my eye, though it wasn't completely genuine; lacking enthusiasm. When it had fallen from his face, he squeezed her shoulder lightly and held his hand there.

Bella shook her head slowly a couple of times before she looked, once again back at me. She raised her eyebrows questioningly, waiting for my answer.

I sighed, trying to think of anything I knew about the issue. My knowledge was limited, I had to admit. I didn't specialise in anything that would be helpful, though I supposed I could see why they thought I would know about this. I looked down at Abby's hunched over form and went into 'Dr Cullen mode'. I analysed her as best I could from where I was standing and recalled everything she had told me earlier, in order to suggest the correct specialists that would be able to help her.

"Well," I started unsurely, "I think for a start I'd suggest a psychiatrist. I mean, it's not exactly a necessity, but it might be good for her to talk everything out with someone impartial. An obstetrician is a definite, they might even help decide what to d-" I explained but was cut off by a confused Jacob.

"Don't mean to sound stupid but… what's an obstetrician?"

Bella rolled her eyes and Abby turned her head round slightly and _almost_ teasingly told him, "You know… one of those people who do like… ultrasounds and other stuff like that."

"Oh." Jacob said stupidly, "Yeah… 'course."

Bella nodded once, smirking, knowing he was completely clueless, hell even I knew that.

I ran my hand through my hair before I continued my list of people Abby should talk to, "Also, do you have any," I paused, wanting to be sensitive towards the situation, "evidence that you were abused?"

It was several moments before Abby responded with a small nod.

I licked my lips, "You might want to make sure they're not, um dangerous or permanent." I added and she looked up wide eyed at me, shaking her head frantically. "Why not?" I asked as to her response.

Abby swung her head so that her hair swung over her shoulder and absentmindedly played with the ends. She kept her eyes trained downwards as she replied softly, "I just don't. Surely we'd know by now if they were going to cause any long term damage." she sighed, "Besides, everyone has scars right?"

I furrowed my brow at her answer; I didn't like it at all. Sure, _most_ people ended up recieving scars at some point, but that wasn't the issue. It was the way she had recieved them that bothered me most.

"You have scars?" I asked as carefully as I could.

She sighed softly, "Does it matter?" she asked and I nodded. She hung her head, "I guess. Mainly bruises though."

I didn't like that word: 'mainly'. It suggested there was something else that was more than just a few bruises. I wanted her to get someone to look at them, just to be on the safe side. I knew there was nothing wrong with a few bruises, they - in certain circumstances - were unavoidable, it was whatever else he had done that was worrying me. I ran my hand through my hair, deciding to return to this subject later.

"You at least need to get in touch with the authorities." I told her.

She caught her lower lip between her teeth and nibbled on it nervously, "What will happen to Chris? I don't want him to get into trouble." she worried.

I shook my head, "I don't know." I answered honestly, not knowing the punishment for this sort of offence. "But he needs to be punished," I told her, "what he did to you wasn't right."

She didn't vocalise a response, she simply placed her index finger on the countertop and began tracing random patterns on the surface before she nodded swiftly once. I blew out a puff of air and turned my gaze on Bella, who was watching Abby's hand move across the hard surface.

I - despite the growing want to go to her - stayed where I was as Jacob continued to comfort them as I couldn't. I wasn't going to show it on the outside, but on the inside, a raging jealousy was growing witnessing their connection. I would never completely be a part of it - at least I didn't see any way how - and I had accepted it. At least, I thought I had.

After a few more minutes of me standing there like a twat whilst they all tried to make each other feel better, Abby yawned quietly and Jacob tucked her into the crook of his shoulder. She leaned into him and closed her eyes, making him smile somewhat, "Maybe you should go get some shut eye?" he suggested.

She hesitated before she nodded her head and slowly rose from where she sat. she stretched her body out as she yawned and a small click was heard when she reached her arms out in front of her, causing her to wince. She dropped her hands back down to her sides and shook her arms, loosening them up slightly.

Jacob grasped the tops of her arms and lowered himself so his gaze was level with hers and whispered something to her that I couldn't hear. She nodded and he smiled at her before pulling her briefly into a hug. Before she left the room, Bella squeezed her hand and smiled softly at her. Abby hesitated before she came towards me, catching me off guard when she stopped in front of me.

She placed a stray strand of hair behind her ear as she averted her gaze anywhere but at me. After several seconds, she raised her head and finally met her gaze with mine, smiling sheepishly, "I never said thanks." she told me in a whisper, "Thank you, Edward. For listening."

I smiled at her, "You're welcome."

She nodded before walking past me and heading upstairs to the sanctuary of her bedroom.

I ran my hand through my hair, fucking it up just a little bit more, before clearing my throat loudly, "I guess I should probably get going." I said, not sure if I should invade their space anymore than I already had.

Jacob nodded, "Yeah… I guess I should probably get out of here too." he paused, turning to Bella, "I'll come by tomorrow if that's alright?" she nodded and he continued, "Okay, I'll call you when I'm on my way." and with that he pulled her into his arms and kissed her forehead.

I couldn't help the small feeling of jealousy as I watched the exchange. I knew it didn't mean anything - well I knew it didn't mean anything to Bella - she had told me before how their relationship worked and I understood. I did. I just found I didn't like watching it all that much, I felt a bit like he was trying to mark his territory or something, which was the worst thing I could possibly think; Bella wasn't property. It was just how they were… nothing romantic about it at all.

By the time Jacob released her from his hold, I had managed to compose myself. He gave me a quick nod, "Edward."

I nodded back, "Jacob." I replied before he headed out the door.

I waited for the click of the door closing before I smiled at Bella, "Right, well I better get going."

Wordlessly, Bella stood and came to wrap her arms around my middle, burying her face in my chest. I placed my arms around her shoulders, holding her tightly to me. I felt her hands grip at the back of my shirt and I rubbed her back comfortingly.

"Don't go." I heard her say, her voice muffled and quiet, but I definitely heard that.

"I don't want to," I assured her honestly, "but you should probably focus on Abby tonight." I told her slightly begrudgingly, though I knew what I was saying was right.

She sighed softly but nodded anyway, "You're right." she told me, "It's just, a lot to take in: my daughter being a mother." she paused and looked up at me, "I could potentially be a grandmother." she cringed and became teary eyed, "Promise you wont leave me." she whispered.

I furrowed my brow in confusion. Why the fuck would I leave her? "Of course I wont. Why would I?"

She sighed, "Not many people would want to date a grandmother."

I laughed at her absurdity. She couldn't have been serious; there was very little that would make me even consider leaving her, and I could safely say, this wasn't one of those rarities.

I squeezed her tightly to me, "I don't care. I'm the luckiest guy alive if you want me at all. I love you so much, Bella, I'm not going to be put off by that. You're beautiful, funny, smart, have the most addictive blush ever." I kissed the tip of her nose as I watched said blush spread across her cheeks and added jokingly, "Besides, I'm older than you remember?"

She rolled her eyes mockingly, "Only by a couple of months." She reasoned, "And for the record, I love you too."

I couldn't help but smile at what she had said. It hadn't been long since we'd been able to make that admission to each other, but I was pretty sure I wasn't going to ever get tired of hearing it.

Before I could respond to her, she said, "I'm sorry I called you out here tonight." I was about to tell her that it wasn't necessary to apologise and that it was no hassle, but she stopped me short, continuing, "I guess we didn't really need you to come out here, we could have figured this out on our own. It's just…"

She trailed off and I ran my hands through her hair, "Just what, Baby?"

She met my gaze with hers and rose herself up to stand on her toes. She bought her hands up and put them around my neck, pulling her face against mine so our lips were touching and whispered, "_I _needed you here." before she fully pressed her lips to mine.

I felt fucking giddy. She _needed_ me. It was more than want, stronger, more powerful than want. I tried to kiss her back, but my lips kept forming into a grin so I simply continued to hold her to me.

It didn't take long before my body began to react to her kiss. I managed to return her affections into a kiss holding all the love and need I could stand, my arms tightly holding her to me. Bella shifted slightly against my crotch and that was all it took. I released a deep moan and 'little Edward' was standing at attention. She must have felt it, because as soon as it happened she froze and pulled back from me slightly, laughing melodically at me.

Unable to stop myself, I laughed along with her. It didn't take much for me to respond this way with her.

"Sorry." She said with a chuckle and I shook my head at her.

"Don't worry. I don't mind, really." I smiled at her.

She nodded and I wrapped her tightly back up in my arms again, resting my head on top of hers.

"I really should go." I told her sadly.

She nodded, "I know." she sighed.

I pressed a kiss to the top of her head before I pulled her back, revealing her lips back to me and placed a soft kiss to them as well.

I grasped her hand in mine and pulled her with me to the door, not ready to let go just yet. I pulled open the front door and turned around to look at her once more. She was watching me curiously as she ran her hand through her hair, absentmindedly pulling it to one side. I took the chance to kiss her exposed neck and suck gently as she combed her fingers through my hair.

I stopped sucking and kissed the spot, beginning a trail of small butterfly kisses from there up to her mouth. I pulled away from her and stepped outside her house.

"Let me know if you need anything, Beautiful." I told her.

She nodded. "I will." She paused, "Do you think I should talk to Charlie?" She asked as though she had just thought of it and I knew excactly what she was talking about.

I nodded, "That would probably be a good idea. He'll no what to do about the legal stuff." She chewed on her lower lip and I ran my finger across it, releasing her lip from her teeths' grasp. "Hope Abby's okay." I added.

She smiled smally, "Thank you, Edward."

I smiled and waved goodbye as I turned around and walked to my car. As I walked away from the house, I heard her shout to me, "Love you, Edward."

I grinned what must have been a shit-eating grin, "Love you too, Beautiful."


	17. Chapter 17 Young Great Grandfather

**Sorry for the wait! Author's note at the bottom =]**

Chapter 17 - The Young Great Grandfather

**BPOV**

"What are you going to tell him then?" I asked Abby as we waited for my father to come back from his toilet break, so as Abby could break her news. I was planning on mentioning Edward to him at some point too in an attempt to take at least some of the attention from Abby.

I realised it was probably a little late for me to only be telling Charlie about Edward now; we'd been together for a couple of months now. I felt a little bad not mentioning anything but I did have my reasons. I knew he still felt bad about the death of Harry and he spent so much of his time with Billy or the Clearwaters these days, it was hard to get hold of him. In fact, it was him who asked me if he could come and visit. He said he missed the two of us and he wasn't going to hold off seeing us any longer. I figured it would be a good chance to seize the opportunity to finally get all this stuff out in the open. I also missed him too.

Unfortunately, Charlie wasn't the only one in the dark about this whole Abby being pregnant business. In fact, as far as I knew, the only people who had found out were myself, Jacob, Edward and Chris. None of Abby's friends knew as of yet and the rest of our family were in the dark.

Abby shrugged at my question and, not looking at me, she said "You know, I think I know what I'm going to do."

I raised my eyebrows despite the fact that she wasn't looking at me and asked what it was that she was planning to do. I knew she was referring to the baby, but if I was honest, I hadn't really considered the idea that she would do anything other than keep it. I wasn't against the idea, it just hadn't occurred to me.

"I think… I'm going to keep it." she answered slowly and turned to face me. "I'm going to keep it." She repeated excitedly as a large grin slowly spread itself across her face.

I smiled back at her and grasped her hand in mine, squeezing it reassuringly. Weirdly enough, I felt _pleased_ that she was saying that. It may seem crazy to anyone else, but I was proud of her, she was able to take responsibility for her actions and was - or at least - seemed completely sure of it.

"So, you're ready to tell Charlie?" I asked.

She licked her lips hesitantly, "Well, no, not really. But I'm thinking that's understandable. I mean, who wants to hear they're going to be a great grandfather at the age of…" she trailed off, questioning me to finish her sentence.

"Fifty six." I answered with only a moments pause. As soon as I said it, I couldn't help but laugh at the absurdity of it. If our family kept going at this rate, Charlie could be alive to see his great, great grandchild also.

Abby's brow furrowed at my odd outburst and I explained my logic to her, causing her to shake her head. "I won't let my baby carry on the trend. Promise." She told me with a smile.

I squeezed her hand once again and turned my attention to my father who had ambled through the door and set himself down on the armchair in front of the television.

He looked down at mine and Abby's joined hands and raised a single eyebrow curiously. He then raised his eyes to meet mine, then Abby's, and finally mine again before he asked "Right. What's going on?"

I looked over at Abby through the corner of my eye and subtly nudged her arm with my elbow. Her eyes flickered my way then back to Charlie and she took a deep breath, preparing herself.

"What? Nothing." She answered almost sounding offended and I had to stop myself from asking her what she was doing.

Charlie folded his arms, "I may be old, but I'm not stupid." he retorted and I rolled my eyes. He wasn't that old.

I noticed Abby chewing on her lip nervously, much as I often did. There was no chance that Charlie wasn't on to her by now, considering he knew this habit well, with the both of us.

"So?" he prompted.

Abby hung her head briefly before raising it once more and straightening her shoulders, giving the impression of strength and confidence and I couldn't retain my smile.

She took yet another deep breath before revealing forthright, "Grandpa, I'm pregnant."

There was a awful, uncomfortable silence where the tension was thick; seriously, atmosphere cutting with a knife thick. Charlie's face was blank, there was no emotion there whatsoever and I was relatively sure he was trying to deny hearing what she said.

After who knows how long of Charlie staring blankly at nothing, Abby chewing furiously on her fingernails and me sitting there uncomfortably looking between them both, Charlie finally showed a reaction. It was probably the most humorous thing I had seen for a while, mainly because he just looked ridiculous, but also because it was exactly the same thing he did when I told him that I was pregnant: his eyes widened considerably, probably to their full potential, his hands clenched into fists and his face - this was the funniest thing - went from fair to red, red to purple and purple to blue

Abby stood up and released her hand from mine as she walked towards him. Before she could get too far that I couldn't reach her, I grabbed her wrist and tugged her gently back towards me. She turned to look at me and I shook my head, not explaining that I knew exactly what was going to happen next.

She came and sat back down beside me and I released her wrist. She kept her eyes on Charlie cautiously, unaware of what his next actions were going to be. I couldn't see it happening any other way now, personally. His skin was already going back to normal, exactly the same as my experience so far, I don't know how it was going to be any different this time.

Without warning - for Abby anyway - Charlie began laughing a booming, hysterical laugh. I had to forcibly hold my mouth closed so as not to release my own round of laughter as I saw Abby's reaction to Charlie's outburst: wide eyes and mouth hanging open.

Quite suddenly, Charlie recovered himself and the laughter ceased. Abby remained frozen in her position, slightly resembling a goldfish. I placed my hand gently onto her shoulder and she snapped out of her reverie.

She cocked her head to the side, "You're not mad?" she questioned Charlie.

"Of course I'm mad!" he exclaimed obviously, "I'm furious." he told her though still sounded abnormally cheerful, "But, I'm happy for you. I suppose."

I crossed my legs and leaned backwards. I wasn't exactly in on this conversation, but I considered myself to play the curious bystander well enough. Besides, I had already had this same conversation about seventeen years ago.

"What's funny about that?" Abby asked sceptically as she clasped her hands together.

Charlie shrugged, "Just that you'll have to tell Renee." he told her before he laughed to himself - less hysterically - once again.

I wondered what my mother's reaction would be this time. Before, she had been completely understanding, despite my fear, and had supported me as much as she could from her home in Phoenix.

However, this was in a way another matter entirely. My mother was always trying to regain her 'lost' youth, as she liked to call it. Her younger husband, Phil was just one example of that. She was spontaneous and quirky and I couldn't be sure of how she would react to becoming a great grandmother, especially when Phil didn't even have a child.

Abby slapped her palm to her forehead and ran her hand through her hair. "You couldn't possibly just tell her for me?" she asked in vain. There was no way that was going to happen.

Charlie shook his head and stood up. He came over to the sofa and ruffled Abby's hair gently before placing his hand on her shoulder. "You'll be fine, Kiddo."

Abby nodded absently before slowly lowering herself backwards, resting herself against the back of the sofa and closing her eyes. As she did, her arms wrapped around her torso tightly and her eyes tightened considerably, creasing her forehead. I looked worriedly at my father who returned my gaze, showing the same feeling in his eyes.

"What is it? Are you okay?" I asked nervously, wondering what was wrong with her all of a sudden.

She shook her head without answering, causing me to worry. Was she experiencing some discomfort? Pain? Cramps? Did she feel nauseous and tired? I had no idea and I didn't like that. She was still in the most vulnerable part of her pregnancy, all the worst symptoms and likelihoods came in the first trimester. I didn't like to think it, but in all honesty it was completely possible that she had miscarried already.

Charlie reached over to stroke her hair but as his hand made contact with her head, she shoved it off urgently and stood up, running out the room and up the stairs.

I looked at Charlie once again, only to see him staring startled in the direction Abby ran in. I placed my hand on his forearm to gain his attention and once I had it, asked him to put the kettle on whilst I attended to Abby. He nodded slowly and headed out to the kitchen as I made my way up the stairs, following Abby's trail.

I saw the door to the bathroom was hanging half open and the sounds of Abby regurgitating her lunch were sounding clearly down the hall. I sighed and swallowed loudly; I didn't deal with sick well. As I walked towards the bathroom, I prayed I wouldn't vomit myself to make things worse.

I looked in the door and saw my daughter on her knees, bent down over the toilet seat as one hand held her up and the other restrained her hair from getting in the way. She was breathing deeply, her body almost convulsing, though nothing more happening. I sat down on the bath, which was beside the toilet, close enough for me to replace her hand in her hair with mine, holding it back for her while my other hand combed through it.

For a moment or so longer, she stayed in that position until she was sure that she was done. Then, she stood up and walked over to the sink, washing her hands and splashing some water on to her reddened face. She then curved her hand and put it under the tap, allowing water to rest in her palm before she took it into her mouth, swished it around and spat it out again, no doubt trying to relieve herself of the taste.

Before she did anything else, I gestured for her to come back over to me. She complied and sat herself down with her back resting against the front of my calves. She gathered her hair together and allowed it to sprawl over my lap, encouraging me to return my hands to it.

I styled and twisted and combed my hands through it, as her head leaned against my legs for support. Her legs stretched out in front of her and as she rested her hands lightly on her stomach she cocked her head slightly to the side.

"You know," she started and I could hear a slight smile in her voice, "I think I might have morning sickness." she told me and I nodded in agreement to myself.

"Yeah." I said, "I think so too."

She was silent for a couple of seconds before she asked, "The whole 'morning' part's a bit misleading, don't you think?"

I chuckled, "That it is. Hopefully" I put emphasis on the hopefully, not wanting to give her complete hope in case it did carry on for the rest of her pregnancy, "you'll stop around the end of your first trimester."

She flopped her head forward and rested it in her hands, "I don't know when that is, I'm so clueless with all this stuff." She paused, "How long did you have it for?" she paused once more then clarified, "Morning sickness I mean."

I slowly licked my lips before I answered softly, "I didn't get it."

"Great." She said sarcastically.

I smiled and leaned down to kiss the top of her head quickly, then sitting back up straight. She sighed loudly and wrapped her arms around her torso, hugging herself.

After a few more moments of silence I said, "You know, Charlie's downstairs still."

"Yeah." She answered in an obvious tone, yet made no move to get up.

In an attempt to push her along, I myself stood up and walked in front of her. I held my hand out to her and she took it, allowing me to help pull her up into a standing position. I took the lead then, releasing her hand and walking out the bathroom, back down the stairs into the kitchen where Charlie was now sat with a mug in hand.

Abby and I sat either side of him and took our own drinks - Abby's as I checked was decaf of course - as I turned my body so it angled towards my father.

"Dad," I started as I looked at Charlie, "you know Esme and Carlisle Cullen? Emmett and Jasper's parents?" I asked, even though I already knew the answer.

Charlie nodded slowly and looked at me sceptically, "Why?"

I licked my lips before I continued, "Well, you know they're youngest son, Edward? Um, the doctor who looked after Harry before he-" I stopped myself from saying the word 'died' and reworded my question, "When he was in hospital?"

"Yes." He said hesitantly, trying to work out where I was going with this.

I ran my fingers through my hair, "Well, I've sort of been seeing him. For a little while now actually." I said and watched him to gauge his reaction.

"Oh," he paused, "for how long?"

I looked at him out the corner of my eye, "Not that long, really. Two months or so." I answered vaguely. If I was being honest with myself, if I wasn't thinking about it, it felt like I'd been with him so much longer than that. We'd started dating mid-May time, and it was now late July; hardly any time at all when you really, really thought about it. Though as far as I was concerned, time wasn't an issue, we worked and we worked well to put it as simply as possible. I was happy.

He nodded, "Does he make you happy?" he asked and I nodded in response with a huge grin on my face. He remained silent for several more seconds before he too nodded, "In that case, I'm happy for you."

With all the news out the way, the next hour or so that Charlie stayed was easy and the conversations flowed between the three generations of our family. At three o clock, Charlie announced that he was headed down to La Push and after I politely declined his offer to tag along, he was off to enjoy the company of his friends.

Abby headed back upstairs as soon as Charlie had walked out the door and I set off to do some chores around the house.

Halfway through doing the ironing I received a slightly frantic text from Rose:

_From: Rosalie_

_Bella, just had thought. Less than 1 month 'til wedding, _

_no dresses 4 bridesmaids etc. Help!! U n Abby meet me n Alice_

_Starbucks Tomorrow. 10am. Don't be late or I will beat u. _

_Love ya xx_

I shook my head at the text in my hand and replied telling her I would see her then and promised to be on time.

Just as I was about to put my phone down and forget about the whole matter for the rest of the day, a thought occurred to me. I stared intently at the phone in my hand before I switched off the iron and headed up the stairs to find my daughter.

I looked towards the bathroom which appeared to be empty and instead headed towards her bedroom. I knocked twice on the door before I opened it and peered my head around. She was sat at her desk, typing frantically at the keys of her laptop. I cleared my throat and she stopped the movements of her hands and turned her head in my direction.

Her eyes looked at me questioningly and I asked, "Are you feeling sick?"

She furrowed her brow and she shook her head, signalling that she was alright. I nodded back to her and held out my phone to her, signalling for her to take it. She stood up from where she sat and hesitantly took it away from me, looking down at it briefly before she looked questioningly at me once again.

"Why are you giving me this?"

I placed my index finger on the screen of my phone and explained "You have a phone call to make."

She cocked her head to the side, "Who?"

"Renee." I told her and her eyes shot to mine instantly.

"What, right now?" She asked sounding nervous.

I nodded and turned around, trying not to allow her to argue; she would have to do it eventually, and sooner rather than later as far as I was concerned.

As en exiting thought, I called to her as I left the room, "Oh, and we're meeting Alice and Rose at Starbuck's tomorrow. You can tell them then as well." I said, knowing she knew full well by what I meant.

"As long as we're not there too long. I'm going to Seth's tomorrow." She called back as I shut her bedroom door behind me. I didn't say anything in reply, though she knew I was fine with that also.

It meant I could catch up on some quality Edward time that I had been missing out on recently.

Tomorrow couldn't come soon enough.

**I'm so not happy with that ending it's unbelievable, but I needed to get it out and it was the best thing I could think of.**

**As I said at the top, I'm sorry for the wait. There was the Christmas and New year period, back to school an A level exam and coursework deadlines to meet. **

**I promise, I wont take so long next time.**

**Until next time chicas (and any possible men there may be reading this, if any… though I'm guessing that's unlikely!) adios =]**


	18. Chapter 18 The Colour Pink

Chapter 18 - The Colour Pink and Other Stupid Things

**EPOV**

I looked ridiculous. Jasper looked ridiculous. Emmett - the bastard - actually looked alright, and looking at the approving look on his face, he thought he did too.

I shot Jasper a look, signalling how stupid I felt which he returned wholeheartedly.

I turned my attention back to the mirrors in front of us and examined my tux. The jacket itself wasn't too bad, just plain, black, simple. It was when you got to the underneath that I started to feel the shame. Jasper and I were having to wear pink ties, and not even one of those dark pinks that you can almost pull off as red, no, it was light pink; new born baby girl pink. I think that's how the assistant described it: 'baby pink'. Now I'm not normally one to rant on and on about colours or whatever, but quite frankly, the way I looked with that fucking tie was worth ranting about. Besides, it wasn't just the tie. The shirt wasn't exactly something I would have chosen. It was dominantly white, but the cuffs, collar and buttons were also pink.

Yeah, this was all Rose's doing, I was sure of it.

"Okay, so now we've seen how stupid we look can we get out of here?" I asked fed up of these suits.

Emmett rolled his eyes, adjusting his normal, black tie, "You don't look stupid Eddie." Emmett replied and I narrowed my eyes at him.

"Please stop calling me that, seriously." I paused, "Oh and have you actually seen what your fiancée has us in? I mean pink? What does she take us for? Why do you get to look normal?"

Emmett laughed, "I get to look normal because she loves me." he shot me a massive grin, "and I don't hear Jasper moaning. So shut up, _Edward_ and stop bitching."

I shook my head and glared at my reflection, waiting for this to be over so we could go,

"Actually Em, I'm about ready to get out of here as well." Jasper admitted and I smirked, knowing my oldest brother was outnumbered for once.

"Alright. Alright, we'll go." He turned his head and signalled for the assistant to come over.

"Anything I can help you with, sir?" he asked politely.

"Yeah, just wandering what we need to do, like pay-wise."

The assistant quickly explained what would need to be done and Emmett was set to pick them up in a few weeks time. When that was all sorted, we ambled off to the changing rooms and rid ourselves of the suits, meeting again at the entrance and heading back to Emmett's car.

He drove us back to his house and Jasper and I agreed to stay for a little while, knowing our company would be welcome.

Emmett threw his front door open, held his arms open and yelled "Honey, we're home!" at the top of his voice. Which was, by the way, quite loud.

Rose ran down the stairs and straight into Emmett's open arms which he proceeded to wrap around her.

"So, what did you think? Were they alright?" Rose asked almost nervously.

"Perfect." Emmett answered sincerely at the same time Jasper and I, less enthusiastically said "Yeah, great."

Rose titled her head so it was no longer hidden behind Emmett and smiled at the two of us, not phased by our unenthusiastic response. She pulled away from Emmett and walked into the lounge, probably expecting us to follow, which we did.

As we took a seat where we could, Rose offered us a drink to which we all declined, which caused her to shrug and she perched on Emmett's lap.

"I'm going to be borrowing Alice for a couple of hours tomorrow, Jasper." Rose said to my older brother and he smiled.

"As long as she comes back in one piece." he said, "What are you girls getting up to then?"

"Dress shopping." She responded enthusiastically as she wrapped her arms around Emmett's neck, causing him to tighten his hold on her waist. She looked at me then, "Bella's coming too."

I nodded, not particularly surprised, "I assumed she would be." I answered simply.

"Is this for the wedding?" Emmett asked and Rose nodded.

"I thought you were planning on having three bridesmaids?" He asked confused, though there was a hint of relief in his voice also; if she was only going to have Bella and Alice as bridesmaids it meant less money spent and made it a little less elaborate.

"I am." she responded, but not putting any explanation behind it.

"Who's the third going to be then?" Jasper asked.

"Well I figured, since I wanted to have someone younger involved in the wedding and I don't have any nieces or nephews or younger cousins or anything that I'd ask Abby." she explained and shrugged nonchalantly.

I smiled widely at the notion and I saw Jasper and Emmett do the same.

After a moment, Jasper cocked his head to the side curiously and turned to Emmett, "If Rose is having three bridesmaids, have you got three groomsmen?" he asked.

Emmett nodded, "Yep." he answered but didn't elaborate.

"Who?" I wondered out loud.

"Oh I asked Garrett." He told us with a smile and Jasper and I nodded.

Garrett Denali was our only cousin. He was somewhat younger than the three of us at twenty five, but we had all formed a real bond when he started high school as he was looking for guidance which we all happily gave him. He had moved around a lot in the past, though since he had met his current girlfriend Kate, he had been much more settled up in New York.

"When's he flying in then? I mean, you'll have to sort his tux and everything out before the wedding." I enquired.

Emmett nodded yet again in agreement, "Yeah he's actually coming down next week. Will give us plenty of time to sort him out before the wedding. Rose has put a tux on hold for him and all the sizes and shit like that can get sorted then." he said proudly.

"Will be good to see Garrett again." Jasper stated and I nodded in agreement.

"It's been a while." I smiled, "I'm curious as to see what this Kate character is like." I added.

"Well, if I know Garrett…" Emmett trailed off suggestively.

I knew all too well what he meant; Garrett's type was typically someone I wouldn't consider bringing home to meet the parents. Ranging from wild, destructive and almost embarrassing to pretty much down right mental. As in psycho mental.

Jasper chuckled, "Do you remember Anna?" he asked and I nodded as Emmett guffawed.

"Jesus Christ she was annoying!" Emmett added and Rose looked confusedly between the three of us.

"Anna? What did she do?" she asked.

I ran my hand through my hair as I grinned remembering Garrett telling me what had happened to finally cause they're break up.

"Anna was a bit…" I paused considering the right word, "possessive. It really got on Garrett's nerves. Anyway, he was living down here for a while when he was with her and he was meeting her to go somewhere or other and before she arrived he ran into Esme." I laughed, "When Anna turned up, Mum was still there and she lost it; told Garrett she'd had enough of him trying to replace her with a 'prettier model' and that she deserved to be treated better. I don't know all the details, but it ended then and there."

"He even told Anna Esme was his Aunt," Jasper paused, "she didn't believe him."

"She didn't believe he could be related to someone so attractive!" Emmett added, amused.

Rosalie sat with one eyebrow raised, silently judging this woman who she never met, though I had to admit with good reason. That one event was pretty tame in comparison to some of the other stories I'd heard about her and the times I met her, I had to admit she was pretty freaky.

I knew Emmett and Jasper agreed with me on that one at least.

"She sounds like fun." Rosalie finally responded sarcastically.

I smirked as Jasper nodded at her.

"Barrel of laughs, Babe." Emmett agreed, laughing.

The conversation moved on to other topics: work, love, general disgust at people in general. Yeah we probably sounded like a bunch of elderly folk discussing all this stuff, but fuck it we were nearing forty - though some closer to it than others.

As the time dragged on I figured I should probably head home and excused myself with Jasper, who evidently had the same idea.

I drove home at top speed, made myself dinner, showered and crashed out on the sofa ready to turn the television on when the phone rang.

Lazily, I bought the phone to my ear "Hello?"

"Edward?" Bella's voice rang out down the line causing me to smile.

"Who else is it going to be?" I teased.

"Good point." she responded, "I was just wondering what you were up to tomorrow afternoon?" she asked.

"Absolutely nothing." I answered honestly, excited for whatever it was she was about to offer.

"Well, I was thinking, since I haven't seen you for a couple of days and Abby is going to be out, you could come by for a few hours…" she trailed of suggestively and I smirked to myself.

"Sounds good to me." I answered and we arranged a time for me to get there. I told her to have fun with the girls dress shopping in the morning and told her I would see her the next day.

I hung up, lay back on my couch and placed my hands under my head, using them as a cushion as I grinned hugely at the ceiling above me.


	19. Chapter 19 Time With The Girls

Chapter 19 - Time With The Girls

**BPOV**

"Do you want to go grab us a table?" I offered, "I'll get the drinks, if you see Alice and Rose tell them I've got them their usual." I explained but Abby shook her head at me.

"No, it's okay, I'll give you a hand with the drinks." she offered. I was about to reject, but she intervened, "Besides, Claire's working today; I want to say 'hi'" she explained.

I looked over at the counter, sure enough seeing Claire Yorkie busily preparing and making customers' various drink orders. I looked back sceptically at Abby but entered the queue with her anyway. I wasn't particularly sure it was such a good idea to distract Claire while at work.

"Do you really think that's a good idea? She doesn't need distracting while its this busy in here." I gestured to the nearly full coffee shop, "besides, we'll never get a seat in here if no one waits with a table." I added, just for good measure.

Abby rolled her eyes at me, "It's not like I popped in here for a chat." she shook her head, "I just want to see her." she finished in a very final tone.

I sighed impatiently but let the subject rest, knowing she wouldn't be swayed. I crossed my arms over my chest and tapped my foot impatiently. I noticed Abby raise and eyebrow at me.

"What?" I asked self-consciously.

"Can you stop doing that?" She asked and I furrowed my brow.

"What?" I repeated stupidly, not sure what she was talking about.

She shook her head, "Don't worry."

I nodded once but didn't say anything more. We moved through the queue slowly, and I grew more impatient the longer we had to wait; I hated queues. At some point I noticed Alice and Rose come in. I waved at them briefly and they returned the gesture, before heading over to one of the few spare tables, ensuring we would be able to sit down.

I nudged Abby with my elbow and she looked at me, slightly startled. "Huh?"

I glanced in the direction of my two best friends before returning my gaze to my daughter, "Alice and Rose are here." I told her and she looked in their general direction.

"Oh yeah, good." she commented and glanced over to them again, biting on her lower lip. "Do you reckon I should tell them now, about the baby?" she asked nervously.

I pursed my lips in thought and sighed, "I think you need to get it over with sooner rather than later." I told her honestly, "Though, don't rush yourself too much. Just remember they're going to find out sooner or later anyway; besides you've already got the worst out of the way." I reminded her.

She nodded in agreement. Jacob and myself knew. Charlie knew, even Renee - who had taken it considerably well - knew. If she was going to keep it as she had decided, she was going to have to inform people. She was also going to have to sort out what she was going to do regarding school, though that could wait a little longer.

"Although," Abby started after a slight pause, "Grandpa Billy doesn't know yet, Emmett doesn't know, none of my friends." she took a deep breath, "God, this is ridiculous!"

I rolled my eyes, "You won't have to tell Emmett, you know Rose will tell him anyway. I'd be amazed if Billy doesn't know and your friends surely will be the easiest people to tell." I explained, remembering what it was like when I was going through the exact same thing.

She nodded, "Yeah you're right." she ran her hand through her hair, "It's just all I seem to be doing at the moment." she complained, "Telling people about it; like I'm working through some sort of list of people to explain it to!" she shook her head, "I'm telling Seth later after this as well." she explained, "probably tell everyone else tomorrow."

I smiled softly at her, "I know, it's hard. Once you've got that out the way, it won't seem as bad." I sympathised, "Besides, you'll have a lot more important things to worry about soon enough." I explained, not to make her feel worse, but in a last minute attempt to get her mind of the negatives of telling people.

"Oh well that's alright then." She replied sarcastically and I couldn't help but grin.

We reached the front of the queue and Claire smiled widely, "Hey, Abby!" she greeted and turned her attention to me, "Ms Black." she added and I smiled.

"Hey Claire." Abby greeted with a smile, "How's work?" she asked.

Claire rolled her eyes, "Mental." She answered and shook her head, though she kept a grin on her face. "Sorry I'll have to make it quick, what can I get you guys?" she asked politely, in a tone she probably used for all her customers.

"I'll have a latte, a hot chocolate with cream, an espresso," I listed off mine, Alice's and Rose's usual drink orders, pausing before I got to Abby's, looking to her for her choice, not sure what she usually ordered from here.

"A caramel cream frappuccno." Abby added herself, "All medium." she smiled and her friend requested her drinks while she entered them to the till.

We paid for the drinks and Claire gave us our orders as we asked for them.

"I'll call you later." Claire said to Abby as a parting gesture and she nodded at her with a smile as she carried her drink and mine to the table. I had Alice and Rose's.

We took our seats and greeted Rose and Alice before we all started sipping on our drinks. Abby was stirring her straw around her drink, mixing the whipped cream in with the rest of the mix before she actually drank any. She was nervous, I could tell.

I assumed she was planning on saying something before we got anywhere near the dress shops.

"Okay," Rose started, "I've got a few places in mind that we could go to, though I'm not entirely sure what I want. I'm thinking pink for the bridesmaid dresses; that would match the groomsmen." she explained and I raised my eyebrows - not that she noticed.

I would have to bring this up with Edward later. Edward in a pink tux was definitely an interesting and hilarious idea.

Abruptly, I focused my attention back on what Rosalie was saying so that I didn't completely keep my thoughts on Edward and lose focus.

"I'm going to need you guys to give me some help here though, I'm not entirely sure what would look best." she explained nervously.

Alice nodded, "You know you can trust me on that." She said proudly, "Never gone wrong with me before." She boasted and Rose, Abby and I all rolled our eyes having heard this all before.

"Alright, Alice." Rose shook her head, "Anyway, I'm thinking if we find the right dress, we get our measurements done then and there, just to get it sorted as soon as possible."

Abby's head snapped up then and she chewed furiously on her lower lip. She tapped her fingers rhythmically against the table and Rose tilted her head to one side, considering asking her what was wrong, I was sure.

Before she got the chance to though, Abby sighed loudly and looked at me, causing me to smile encouragingly. She smiled back a small smile before she looked over to Rose, who was still giving a questioning glance.

"Not to be too awkward," Abby started quietly, looking down at the table again now, "but I might need to have a little bit of flexibility on my sizing." she told her, though didn't explain why.

Rose furrowed her brow in thought and I noticed Alice do the same. "Why?"

Abby turned red in embarrassment and looked up at Rose through her lashes, "Because," she paused and Alice's eyes lit up as though she already knew what Abby was about to say. She took a deep breath and continued in a voice barely above a whisper, "I'm pregnant."

Rose sat in stunned silence following Abby's probably unexpected revelation, while Alice was practically bouncing in her seat, grinning from ear-to-ear. Abby turned her attention to her drink, sucking it up through the straw eagerly in order to distract her from Rose's curious gaze.

"You're pregnant?" Alice asked excitedly and Abby nodded. "Oh my God!" Alice exclaimed, "That's so exciting! How long for? When did you find out? What are you going to do?" she all but screeched at her.

Abby's eyes bugged out of their sockets, overwhelmed at the speed of Alice's questioning. She shook her head as if to clear it before she answered, "Well, I'm keeping it," she answered hesitantly and Alice very nearly screamed with excitement - a typical Alice reaction - then silenced herself, allowing Abby to finish answering her questions.

"Um…" she paused, "I haven't known very long, but if I've got the timings right, then I've been pregnant for just over a month."

"You're really pregnant?" Rose intercepted sceptically.

Abby nodded and after a moment's pause, Rose's face erupted into a grin, "Aww! That's amazing." she exclaimed and reached around the table to rest her hand on Abby's almost completely flat stomach. "Thank God you're not very far along. Don't worry about the dress, you'll probably be about the same size you are now, it's rare that people start showing that soon. If not, you might just look a little bloated, it'll be fine."

Abby's face was red and her head was ducked down, but she was still smiling proudly, and I smiled also. Though I still wasn't completely pleased that she had gone and gotten herself pregnant, at the same time, I couldn't help but be happy that she had. My logic may have been slightly moronic, but quite honestly, I enjoyed having the two conflicting ideas at the same time, it was an oddly positive feeling.

"Never a dull moment around here is there?" Alice asked cheerfully.

I nodded in agreement, "Who would have thought." I smiled.

"I'm kinda surprised you're not both mad at me." Abby commented, sounding shocked.

Rose raised an eyebrow as Alice responded, "Seriously? You thought that _we_ would be mad?" she shook her head and in mock sorrow added, "It's like you don't know us at all."

Abby smiled, "Well I don't know why I thought that." she paused, "Not particularly logical, right?"

Rose shook her head, "No, not really." Rose smirked, "We're not irrational. Unfortunately, I couldn't possibly say the same about our other halves."

I rolled my eyes, "You got the worst culprit there, I'm afraid Rose." I teased.

"Tell me about it." She agreed, casually. "I can't wait to see his reaction to this though. He's ridiculously protective of you."

We all grinned apart from Alice, who's eyes flickered from Rose, to me, to Abby and back down to the table before she plastered a smile on her face which, if I didn't know her so well would have been convincing. The only give away was that it didn't quite reach her eyes.

I wanted to ask her what was wrong, but thought better of it, knowing that she obviously didn't want anyone to know anything was bothering her. I would keep this in mind for later though.

"I know." Abby sighed. "Oh well, it's nice really." she shrugged and slurped on her drink.

Rose looked at her watch and her eyes went wide, "Right, hurry up, places to be, people!" She urged nervously, and I had to suppress a giggle at her absurdity.

By the time we had found what we all decided would be the perfect dress, Abby looked like she was about to collapse from exhaustion; she had requested that her measurements be taken first so she could just sit down for five minutes. The other three of us had all looked worriedly at her but she shrugged it off, claiming she was okay, so we allowed it to drop.

As far as I was concerned, we were lucky she hadn't felt nauseous yet, particularly after yesterday with Charlie. Oh and the incident this morning. Besides, I was far more concerned by the dark, obviously relatively new bruising between her shoulder blades. She must have caught me staring worriedly at it, because she pulled her hair which had been thrown over her shoulder to hang down her back obscuring the bruise from view before anyone else had seen it.

I made a mental note to mention this later, trying not to ruin the morning by focusing on it too much.

I stood in front of the mirror, my arms stretched out at my sides and the sales assistant taking my measurements: my hips, waist and bust with a tape measure. The dress -despite my complete distaste to the idea of wearing them - was actually quite pretty. Pink in colour, strapless and came down to mid-calf length. It was simple, which I think is why I liked it so much; the only decoration was a plain white ribbon that wrapped itself around my waist. The only problem I had was the shoes. The heels were terrifying; especially with my balancing issues. I was going to have to put in some practice.

Once the measurements were taken, I changed out of the dress sat down between Abby and Alice while we waited for Rose. Abby leaned her head on her shoulder and I saw her eyes drift closed. I reached my hand up to thread my fingers through her hair, "Tired?"

She hummed in agreement, "Didn't sleep well last night." she shrugged.

"You alright to go to Seth's later?" I asked uncertainly.

She nodded, "I want to go." she replied and I didn't argue.

"So, how did" Alice paused in thought, "Chris - it is Chris right? - take it?" she asked curiously.

Abby and I shared a meaningful glance before Abby replied in a whisper "Yeah it is. Not very well."

Alice pursed her lips, "Oh." she said, "What's going on there then?"

Abby shrugged, "I guess I don't know."

"Are you still together?"

"Alice." I warned.

"No, it's okay." Abby interjected, "I don't really know the answer to that either." she looked downwards, "Maybe not for much longer." she answered honestly.

No one said anything and the atmosphere was awkward for a while. I could tell Alice wished she hadn't started on the subject of Chris, realising she didn't know all the details - which were vital though she may not have known that.

"Right tha-" Rose started but abruptly cut herself off when she noticed the awkward silence which had fallen upon the three of us. Her eyes darted between us and she raised an eyebrow curiously. She cleared her throat in an uncomfortable manner before she continued cautiously, "So, we're pretty much done here. You ready to take off?"

Alice jumped up, nodding her head once and Abby and I followed her lead. Though we were able to erase the slight but noticeable tension, Rose still had suspicious eyes, though didn't ask.

I ended up driving Abby over to the Clearwaters' for her visit with Seth not long after, the drive was quiet and oddly tense, though I had no idea why. She seemed to be deep in thought over something, so I let her be, though the curiosity was building up inside. It was something that I had found increasingly difficult to restrain recently.

As we entered La Push, I noticed Abby lift her head from the corner of my eye and she turned it to stare out the window.

"Could you just drop me off at the shop?" she asked suddenly.

I nodded despite the fact that she wasn't looking at me, "Yeah, of course."

"Thanks." She replied, "Oh also, I'm probably gonna go see Dad a bit later, so I might just get him to give me a lift home." she informed me.

"As long as he's okay with that, then I don't mind." I replied, knowing Jacob wouldn't mind in the slightest. Any chance he got to spend with Abby he would take it.

I dropped Abby off at the shop as she requested, seeing Seth waiting for her outside, despite the rain which had begun to drizzle from the sky. I watched as she ran towards him, catching his arm and dragging him inside before she got too wet. I couldn't help but smile at the grin that had appeared on her face.

I drove myself home at some speed, almost desperate to sort my dampened, frizzy hair out before Edward arrived. I scrambled out of the car and jogged to my door, standing under the protective shelter above it.

As I walked through the door, I stole a glance at my answering machine, making me aware of the new message awaiting me.

"_Hey, Bella, it's Edward._" I knew that of course from the sound of his voice, "_I've been paged to go in to work this morning, but it'll only be a couple of hours, so I'll still come by later, just a bit later than we had planned." _he paused and I smiled, "_Actually, we hadn't really planned a time had we? Okay, so I'll be there at 2.30 if that's alright? Actually, I don't care if it's alright or not, I'm coming then anyway." _I smirked as he paused again, "_I hate these things, I feel a bit awkward now. So… oh fuck it, I love you, see you later."_

I grinned as his voice stopped and the beeping of the machine took its place. I glanced over to the clock and read the time as 1.20, just over an hour until he arrived. With that thought in mind, I ran up the stairs towards a nice, hot shower.


	20. Chapter 20 Things To Resist

Chapter 20 - Things To Resist

**EPOV**

I hung up the phone having left Bella a message and pulled on my white jacket ready to start work. I only had to do a couple of hours but the time was going to drag, knowing that I could have spent some extra time with Bella, not being stressed by this patient or that patient being in a serious condition or needing examining again.

I was amazed that I hadn't started going grey yet, honestly.

I was hoping that Ben would be here with me to lighten the mood at least a little, unfortunately today was supposed to be the day off for both of us and I got the short straw when they found we were understaffed. Typical.

It meant I was going to be on call with Alec who - I'm not going to lie - scared me sometimes. He had a really odd vibe to put it bluntly. When he talked to you, he was fine, it was when you were alone with him, in silence that I began to sense he was a bit weird. By that, I mean he stares at you with a look that says 'I'm a complete psycho and want to tear you to shreds'. I had to wonder how he kept up such a good bedside manner with his patients; but it was probably because he worked nights and they were usually all asleep.

I headed to my first patient's room, equipped with my stethoscope and chart for Mr Derchy. He was almost worryingly overweight, with high blood pressure and a serious risk of heart disease. There was currently little I could do for him, there wasn't any immediate risk, other than suggest a change in his diet and to do a little more exercise.

He probably wouldn't, so I could probably expect him back sometime soon.

It wasn't me being prejudice or judgemental, but they very rarely did much enough to change.

I'd become somewhat pessimistic also due to this job. I mean, I loved doing it… but there were positives and negatives to everything.

As I expected, the hours dragged by, nothing major was happening with my patients and Alec, on the odd occasions that we were in the staff room together, kept staring at me with that disturbing gaze. Well, not just me; it happened to Jessica from the nursing staff as well when we came in, but I'm pretty sure that was for a different reason entirely.

2 o clock couldn't have come fast enough. I clocked off my shift and made my way swiftly to the entrance, hoping to make it to Bella's within half an hour; it was still possible.

I was caught off guard by meeting Abby - almost head on - as I walked through the automatic doors. She wasn't alone, though. Stood beside her, looking at Abby (who was smiling hesitantly at me) curiously, was a gangly, native American boy with ruffled brown hair. I couldn't figure out why it was but I had a slight feeling I had seen him somewhere before.

Before he could say anything, Abby greeted me with a nervous, "Hello, Edward."

The boy's eyes lit up in understanding, probably now realising who I was. I smiled back at Abby, "What are you doing here?" I asked curiously.

She chanced a look at the boy beside her who had turned his head in her direction. They shared a quick glance before she returned her eyes to me and answered quietly, "I made an appointment with the obstetrician."

I nodded once, that was probably a good idea. I wondered why she had bought this boy along with her though, I thought briefly that he was this Chris character, but he looked too young and too familiar to be him.

"Um, Edward, this is my friend, Seth Clearwater." Abby introduced us after a little too much silence and his familiarity clicked. I had treated his father not so long ago after a heart attack, which had ended unfortunately. I shook his hand that he had left outstretched firmly and smiled in greeting.

"I remember your father." I commented, hoping it wouldn't upset him, but he appeared to be fine, "How are you holding up?" I asked out of genuine curiosity.

He nodded and smiled briefly, "We're okay. Coping at least."

I nodded and smiled in return. Abby looked between us oddly before she shrugged and nuzzled into Seth's side. In return, he released my hand from his grasp and put his arm around her shoulders comfortingly.

"Are you going to be alright on your own in there?" I asked before I took off.

Abby rolled her eyes, "I'm quite capable of going in on my own." she answered impatiently, but then continued more calmly, "It's okay, really. I'll have Seth there with me." in response he squeezed her more tightly to his side.

"Alright." I answered, "I'll probably see you later then, Abby."

She tilted her head to the side, "Are you going to see Mum?" I nodded in reply and she continued, "Okay, probably see you then." she paused, "Could you, like, not tell her about this? She asked and I nodded causing her to smile, followed by Seth waving once before they continued on inside and I retreated outside, just wanting to see Bella even more now.

As soon as I walked inside her house I had her in my arms. I refused to allow any space between us and was adamant that I was touching her at all times, at least in some way. I held her hand as we went into the kitchen to pick up the pre-made coffee that rested on the island, had my arms wrapped around her torso as we drank it and as we headed down to sit on her sofa.

"How was work?" She asked as we curled up together on the sofa.

I ran my hand up and down her arm as I replied, "Uneventful. All the patients had really boring cases; makes time go a little slow."

She turned her head in my general direction with furrowed brows before teasing, "Oh no, how awful! What has come to the world, how dare people not be too ill today!"

I poked her in the side, causing her to yelp sweetly, "I didn't mean it like that. It's just it felt like I was there for no reason, made worse by the fact that I didn't have to be there in the first place and I could have been with you instead."

She squeezed my hands at my words. "I wasn't here anyway, at least you were doing something productive."

I shrugged despite the fact that she couldn't see and squeezed her more tightly to me. I knew of course that she was dress shopping with Alice and Rose earlier, but it was the principle of it; it was supposed to be my day off. Although, thinking of Bella dress shopping…

"When do I get to see you in your bridesmaids dress?"

Bella turned in my arms so she was facing me. She bought her hand up to her face and tapped her cheek with her index finger repeatedly as if in thought as she pursed her lips.

"Well let's see," she began, smiling, "Emmett and Rose get married on 25th August" she paused and grinned, "So, around 25th August" she finished and stuck her tongue out childishly at me.

I rolled my eyes and tapped the tip of her nose playfully. She pouted before burrowing her face into my shoulder. I wrapped my arms around her and held her tightly to me, feeling her breath push against me gently, a patch of warmth forming where it hit. I closed my eyes and buried my face into her hair, the smell of strawberries intruding on my senses, but I welcomed it; an engulfing reminder that she rested in my arms.

I felt her nuzzle up closer to me and trail kisses along my neck and collarbone, sighing when I tightened my hold on her. I rolled us over so that I was on my back and her barely noticeable weight was pushing down onto me.

She smiled at me and, pushing her long hair over her shoulders, leaned down placing a kiss on my lips. I kissed her back, only more passionately, putting more love and desire into the kiss than we had ventured recently. Also, without coming across as a sexually obsessed jerk, I wanted to show her that I was a little horny as well.

She pressed her hips into mine causing me to jerk instinctively in response. She pulled away from me slightly, a cheeky grin plastered on her face. She bit down on her lower lip and I could see a glint of teasing in her eyes. For a moment, she pressed her hips harder onto mine before removing the pressure and standing up.

I released a groan of almost irritation, before she held out her hand to me. I took it without a second thought and followed her up from the sofa, out of the room and up the stairs to her bedroom where we spent the next few hours.

Being naked with her was something I had missed; it was one of the most amazing sights I had ever had the fortune to witness, and I'd seen some beautiful things in my time. Her delicate, soft skin, her delicious curves in all the right places, even her small but noticeable birthmark, the shape of a boot was beautiful.

Being inside her as well… I revelled in the opportunity to be inside of her. Feeling her around me, being in essence a part of her, it didn't happen often enough.

Although, I had to admit, a gentleman may never tell but I would admit to myself I was inside her quite a few times during our escape to her bedroom.

When we eventually emerged, it was well into the evening. I wondered briefly when Abby was going to return, although I did not voice my question.

"Do you fancy a pizza?" Bella asked as she leaned over the counter, resting on her forearms, holding a menu in her hands.

I shrugged, "Sounds good to me." I agreed.

She smiled, "Good because," she paused, interrupted by the angry growling of her stomach, causing her to blush, "well, I was going to say 'because I'm hungry', but I think I just proved that point." she looked down at her stomach before moving her eyes back across the menu, pursing her lips in thought.

I grinned, "Maybe we should get a large?" I teased as I walked around to stand behind her, wrapping my arms around her waist and rubbing her stomach tenderly, "Wouldn't want to make it angry." I laughed and she turned her head to glare at me.

I grinned and placed a chaste kiss on her cheek. She sighed and turned away again, back to the list of different pizza toppings, sizes and side dishes. I rested my head on her shoulder and turned my attention also to the menu, scanning the options.

"I quite like the sound of a meat-fest." she offered.

I smiled, "Whatever you want. I'll eat anything, I'm pretty hungry myself." I admitted and pulled away when she began to move for the phone.

She had dialled the number and pressed the phone to her ear when I heard the front door open and close. I turned to look towards the door where I saw Abby and Seth step into the kitchen. I smiled at Abby and she smiled back before she turned her attention to her mother, who gave a brief wave before she began speaking down the phone.

Abby looked at me once more and asked "Who's she talking to?"

"She's just ordering a pizza." I informed her, "Have you eaten?"

She nodded, "Seth and I had dinner with dad." she told me and I couldn't help feel a little resentment once again towards Jacob, though with little reason for being a ital part of both Abby and Bella's life. It was unfair, but I couldn't help it.

I nodded, but Seth spoke from the kitchen doorway, "I've always got room for a little bit more, though." he rubbed his stomach looking almost hungrily and I smiled, remembering the days when all I did was eat. They were great times.

"Does your mum know you were planning on bringing Seth here?" I asked Abby sternly, although I felt a bit rude in doing so, not having the right to ask particularly. Or enforce and decision or opinion in the matter anyway.

She raised an eyebrow at me and crossed her arms, though she was smiling, so I assumed she wasn't that irritated, "If you must know, she doesn't." she shrugged, "it's okay, she won't mind."

"Won't mind what?" I heard Bella ask behind me several seconds after the click of the phone being hung up.

We all turned our attention to her, but it was Abby who answered, "If Seth stays?" she asked hopefully.

Bella shot a look at Seth before she nodded, "Why not. I just ordered a pizza, you guys can help us finish it, I heard you've already eaten, but it's not going to waste." she informed them.

"I'm always up for more food, Bella." Seth spoke up once again, the grin easily detectable in his voice.

Bella smiled, "Did you two have a good day today?" she asked curiously and I turned my attention back to the two teenagers in the room.

Both of them nodded in response to Bella's question, it didn't seem like they were going to mention their visit to the hospital just yet. Seth took another step into the room so he was more visible and rested his elbow on Abby's shoulder.

"We hung round Seth's for a bit, went to First Beach and had dinner with dad before he bought us back here." Abby told us happily.

Before anything else was said, Abby and Seth grinned widely at each other, holding each other's glances for some time, almost as if they were having a silent conversation. Seth nodded once and Abby turned her attention back to us. I had no doubt that the expression on my face was questioning, and looking briefly at Bella's, I could see she shared my confusion.

"Also," Abby continued, "I have something to show you." she beamed as she reached down to grasp her shoulder bag which hung by her side. She opened it and put her hand inside, rustling through her belongings for a short while before she pulled something out. It appeared from here to be a small square of paper, perhaps a photograph.

She kept her eyes on it for several seconds while she smiled adoringly at it, before she turned her attention, once again, to Seth. He smiled reassuringly at her and placed a kiss to the top of her head before she nodded and walked towards Bella and myself. She took a deep breath and held out her hand. I took a peak at what she held and could see that it was her sonogram picture. The trip to the hospital was going to be mentioned now then.

Bella took the picture out of Abby's hand and stared at it intently. Her eyes did occasionally flit up to meet Abby's, but for the most part, they remained on the image of her grandchild in front of her. It was so very hard to keep my gaze away from it, not wanting to intrude my eyes upon it until I was given some form of permission to do so.

I looked over at Seth who was smiling at mother and daughter, although his body language was slightly awkward, as though he didn't know quite what to do with himself. I knew exactly how he felt, to an extent. Although I'm sure he was lacking the immense curiosity I felt, having been there when the scan was done.

Returning my concentration back to Bella, I noticed her finger tracing some sort of pattern upon the picture. She raised her eyes to her daughter's, "Is this…" she trailed off leaving her sentence incomplete.

Abby nodded, "Yeah, that's my baby." she said with tears in her eyes.

I saw a single tear fall down Bella's cheek as she looked at the image once more. I truly believed it was something females did to get so emotional over babies and all that stuff, I mean honestly yeah, babies were great, I loved kids and it was always nice when someone you knew was having one. Getting emotional over it? I really didn't understand.

I suppose it may have been partly to do with it being her daughter's baby, but I couldn't be sure. It wasn't like I had any experience with this.

Abby turned her attention to me and asked with some shy hesitation, "Do you want to see?"

I smiled and nodded, turning my head towards the image, Bella stretched out her hand towards me, allowing me to see. It was only small, of course; the foetus I mean. Honestly, you could barely see it, at this stage in pregnancy, it was merely a dot on the screen, and I often found it hard to see it any other way. I shook my head, trying to erase my more scientific thoughts of what was mainly just a bunch of cells and considered it as they did, as a developing _person_ that would soon have a body and emotions and needs.

I couldn't help the smile that appeared on my face. Thinking about it that way, I could kind of see where all the emotion came from. It was kind of nice actually, seeing it that way; it made the whole thing seem a bit more real.

I grinned at Abby and she blushed furiously, looking back at the picture. She reached out for it and Bella reluctantly handed it back to her. Abby stole another glance before she headed over to the fridge and secured the image to it with one of the fridge magnets, making it one of the main focal points.

"I was thinking," Abby said, sounding almost nervous, "I might, a bit further along, I might make some sort of baby scrap book or something. Put all my sonogram pictures and whatever else in there." she paused, "I don't know. It might be a bit of a stupid idea though." she finished, keeping her eyes towards the floor.

"Sounds like an amazing idea." Bella replied, honestly.

Abby smiled, "Good." she paused again and met her mother's eyes, "There's something else I want to tell you, but I don't want you to try and change my mind, or really say anything about it, I'm just telling you because I figured you'd want to know." she took a deep breath before continuing, "I talked to Grandpa Charlie today about, well, Chris." she sighed, "I told him everything, about _that_ and showed him some of the bruises."

She wrapped her arms around herself comfortingly, "He said that although he could see the proof, it was likely it would be just my word against his and the court would look from Chris' point of view as well, possibly seeing it as self inflicted." she looked at Seth again for reassurance and he went to her and put an arm around her shoulders. "I gave Charlie his name and it turns out, he's already wanted by the police anyway, so, for now anyway, I've decided not to press charges. It's too complicated and I don't have it in me. I might change my mind, but yeah." she took another deep breath as she drew her explanation to a close.

Bella looked as though she wanted to argue - honestly I couldn't blame her - but she said nothing. She pressed her fingers to her lips, probably wanting to point out all the reasons that she should do something about it. As bad as it was, I was fighting that same urge.

Surely Abby would want some sort of justice for the bullshit she had to put up with through her relationship with him. Even I thought he was an asshole, and I'd never even set eyes on him, let alone been through it.

Abby seemed to be able to tell by the expressions on our faces that we weren't particularly happy about this, "Look, technically, he's still my boyfriend, and my baby is his too. I don't want to punish him." she paused, "well, not too much anyway." she relaxed into Seth's hold noticeably, "Although I do plan on changing the fact that he's my boyfriend very soon."

Bella nodded and Seth tightened his hold on her. The atmosphere in here was making me feel awkward. I had no part in any of this and had nothing to say about it, it was far too personal an issue for me to have any input.

The moment the doorbell rang for the pizza couldn't have come fast enough.


	21. Chapter 21 One Lucky Baby

Chapter 21 - One Lucky Baby

**BPOV**

It was hard not to sneak a glance at the fridge every time I entered the kitchen now. It was like that little baby in the picture, despite it being a little premature, already had me wrapped around it's still undeveloped little finger.

Actually, in the couple of weeks that it has been since the scan, it probably was far more developed by now.

It was weird, thinking that, according to the doctor and what Abby had told me, I would be a grandmother by mid-February. I hadn't exactly planning that for another 10 years or so at least, let alone a grandmother at 36 - as I would be by then.

As a saving grace, Abby's time in the first trimester is coming to an end and hopefully she will stop having to rush to the bathroom for a dose of morning sickness. It's not a nice wake up call, though it had luckily become less frequent.

I was glad though that she had finished school for a little while now, as it had reached the time for their summer break. I would be glad to see her less stressed out and tired as she had been.

She came more gracefully than I had seen her for a long time down the stairs and popped her head around the door, smiling sadly.

I turned my head to the side curiously, "What's up?"

She sighed, and walked towards the fridge, pulling the sonogram off so she was clutching it, her eyes gazing down at it before she looked at me once more, "I'm going to finally show this to Chris." she told me.

I crossed my arms across my chest, irritated at the thought of her being anywhere near him. "What if he tries to hurt you?"

She clenched her jaw and raised her eyebrows at me, "Do you think I'm stupid?" she asked me impatiently, almost shouting the question, "I'm not gallivanting off to some secluded, private place where he can do what he likes. I'm meeting him somewhere public, where he can't do anything and I can end it as well. Finally."

I licked my lips, not wanting to argue with her about this, though I wasn't particularly happy with this arrangement. Even if they were in a public space, he could surely very easily make sure they were in private eventually and do what he liked then. I shook my head in protest, but she spoke before I could argue.

"Listen," she started and paused, waiting for me to calm myself. When I had, she continued, "I want to show him this." she held the picture up briefly, "It's his baby, too, no matter what he's done to me. He wants to see it and I told him I'd let him, I don't want him to think I'm scared of him, even if it is true." she sighed, her eyes glistening with unshed tears, "I would hate for my baby not to have even had the chance of knowing its father; I know I wouldn't have liked that, so it's one last chance for him to be there for our child." she informed me and I couldn't argue.

Her words had hit me, hard, near enough knocking the breath out of me. She was so adamant that she would allow Chris to be a part of the baby's life, simply because the baby deserved to know its father. I couldn't argue because a part of me wished desperately that I'd had the initiative to do so as well when I fell pregnant with Abby. As much as Jacob was an amazing father to her, biologically, that role belonged to someone else, and Abby would probably never know him, or even know of his existence.

I nodded my head at her in almost resigned acceptance, "Where are you meeting him, then?"

"Starbuck's." she told me, "Luckily, Claire's working today so if anything does on the off-chance go wrong, she can quite easily get rid of him." she shrugged, "Besides, maybe it's about time I told my friends about this, they're all suspicious of it already, so I may as well confirm it."

I nodded, "Good." I paused in thought, "You haven't told your friends yet?"

She shook her head, "Other than Seth and Leah, no." she shrugged, "I didn't know how, but I'll just go for it. I'm meeting up with them later and Claire's coming with me when she finishes work at 12 - it all kinda worked out quite well."

I smiled, "It probably is about time, really."

She grinned at me, reaching down to her still flat abdomen and stroking it lovingly, "Not long 'til I'm gonna start showing either, is it?"

"I wouldn't give it much longer, no."

She grinned, moving her hand back to hang by her side. Reaching down to grasp her bag, she placed the picture inside as she turned to leave, sighing heavily as if trying to prepare herself. I wished her luck, meaning it entirely, as she walked out the door.

I looked down at the floor and sighed, regret threatening to burst its way through me. I'm almost certain that, had I been in possession of any common sense, I would have tried harder to find out who Abby's father was. Jacob still would have been a part of her life and they still would have had that bond, I was certain of it, but at least then we would know for sure.

It took all my efforts to get me into work after that. I had no motivation whatsoever other than the fact that at lunch I would get a chance to bitch to Rosalie about how stupid I was and how irritated I was and how it sort of came out of no where, given I'd been in a pretty good mood before this whole topic sprang to mind.

I had a few new drafts to look through, which kept me busy and therefore my mind was put somewhat more at ease about it. However, it didn't stop me worrying about Abby all morning; whether she was safe, if she had even got around to finishing their relationship yet, how Chris had reacted to even just seeing her.

I massaged my temples, trying to ease the oncoming headache that had emerged with the strain being put on my brain with my over-active thoughts. Checking the time, I noticed it was about time for my lunch break, but made no move to get up from my chair.

I sighed and pushed myself up, forcing myself to move. I didn't have much motivation in me anymore, though I did like the prospect of possibly getting some pain killers or a glass of water to soothe my head.

I walked around my desk and took my lunch out of my bag and dropped it onto my desk, before heading out of my office and towards Rosalie's. I knocked twice before opening the door, knowing she wouldn't mind.

I peered around the frame and smiled at her before I entered the room entirely and closed the door behind me. She dropped her pen and raised an eyebrow at me curiously, still with a smile on her face.

"Have you got any pain killers?" I asked.

She tilted her head to the side, "What's wrong?" She asked sounding worried.

I shook my head, "Headache." I began and explained my fears for Abby's safety and other things I was concerned about surrounding her and what she was going to be doing while I sat in my office none the wiser.

Rose reached down into her drawer, not moving her eyes away from me. After only seconds of searching through, she pulled out her hand revealing the pills I'd been looking for. As she handed them to me, she smiled softly, "You know, she'll be alright, you know."

I swallowed down the pills and looked at her sceptically, "How do you know?"

She shrugged, "I don't." she sighed, "But, honestly, what can he do in such a public, open location? Maybe it's better she does talk to him about it, it's not like she can just keep seeing him or let him go without a choice in the matter on her child. Although, she's got balls she does, I'll give you that."

I couldn't help but smile a little; Rose was always good at that, plus she had a point. I was starting to feel a little better, but I was pretty ready to start feeling really good right about now. I nodded in response, "Yeah I know, but it's hard not to be concerned."

Rose placed her hand over my own and squeezed gently, "She'll be fine." she assured me, taking a pause, "You gonna be alright working in this state?" she asked.

"Once I've got some food in me." I smiled and left, once I'd thanked her for listening and for the pain killers. I honestly didn't know what I would have ever done without her even if in this case it was just for the simple things.

The afternoon went better - not that it could have gone much worse. My head was a little clearer and I was able to concentrate on work, rather than worrying over something - hopefully - inconsequential. Of course, I would feel awful in the end if that wasn't the case, but I was trying not to focus on the negative so much.

When I finally got home, I breathed a sigh of relief to find Abby already there, seated on the sofa with her legs curled up.

"How did it go?" I asked, curiously.

She pursed her lips and shrugged, "It was okay; sort of weird and surreal, but fine." she answered vaguely.

I crossed my arms across my chest, "What happened?" I questioned her again, slightly concerned by her lack of an answer.

She licked her lips and propped her elbow up on the armrest, resting her chin in the palm of her hand. Her eyes flitted downwards, then back up to my face. She looked thoughtful, as though she was trying to find the right way of phrasing it; I couldn't decide if that was a bad thing or not.

She took a deep breath, "Well, I kind of gave Chris an ultimatum."

She paused, probably expecting me to form some sort of response, but I refused to add any input until she had finished. I raised my eyebrows expectantly, waiting for her to continue.

"He was okay - with me ending it, I mean - which was good, although it would have been nice if he was a bit more upset. He wants to be involved with the baby, which is also good." she paused, frowning, "I thought about it though, properly, when he said that and I realised him being like that was really out of character, so… I told him he needed to prove he could change first and that he actually cared."

I smiled, completely in agreement with her decision. She was giving him the chance to be involved whilst being cautious about it.

"Good." I replied proudly, "What happened after that?"

She shrugged, "We talked a bit and then I left."

"Have you told your friends yet?" I asked and she nodded in response. "And?"

She shrugged again, "Most of them weren't surprised to be honest." her frown deepened "I guess it must have been pretty obvious."

I didn't really know what to say to that. She didn't seem too distraught by the idea of them knowing and it didn't sound like they had all turned against her because of it, so I could only assume it had all gone alright.

It didn't particularly shock me; the idea that it had been obvious to her friends. She was tired more often than usual, the morning sickness - though rarely - had reared its unwanted head at school before and she appeared to be riding on an emotional rollercoaster constantly. No doubt as well, they knew she had been having sex and perhaps shared a concern with them, without outright telling them: missing a period for instance.

I perched on the armrest and placed my arm around her shoulders comfortingly. She rested her head against me and relaxed as I ran my hands through her hair, sighing softly.

"So, everything's okay?" I checked.

"Fine." she replied lazily, yawning as she relaxed further. "I had a lot of Godparent requests." she added as an afterthought.

I smiled and rested my head atop of hers. I knew - or at least guessed - that it was only in joking, but it was reassurance that her friends were accepting of her situation and were willing to help her.

"Sounds like its going to be one lucky baby."


	22. Chapter 22 Let's Get Smashed

**Chapter 22 - Let's Get Smashed**

**EPOV**

"One, two, three" we shouted as we lifted our glasses to our lips and downed the pint's worth of beer contained in them, gulping down the liquid greedily. As we swallowed the last dregs, we each slammed the glasses back down on the bar and released a sigh of satisfaction.

A belch of satisfaction in Emmett's friend, Joe's case.

Something the rest of us found ridiculously amusing and resulted in a slurred "Whey!" from Jasper.

Emmett clasped our brother's shoulder tightly, grinning widely. Jasper, momentarily looked somewhat confused, furrowing his brow as he peered at Emmett's hand. Emmett patted him a couple of times, shaking his head mockingly.

"Wha'?" Jasper asked, his speech still slurred.

Emmett laughed, "You," he started, pointing his finger in his face accusingly yet dramatically, "are drunk, little brother."

Jasper shook his head vehemently as he pushed Emmett's hand away, "Noooo." he declared stubbornly.

The rest of us nodded our heads to show our agreement with Emmett; that's what I was doing anyway, fuck knows about the rest of them really, but their actions were the same as mine.

Jasper seemed determined to prove us wrong though. He placed his hands on either side of him for support; one resting on the bar, the other clutching the small back of his stool. He pushed himself up, placing his feet tentatively on the floor, a look of intense concentration on his face.

After a few seconds of near-success, he removed his hands from their support and began to lose his balance. He fell forwards, reaching his hands out in front of him as he came into contact with Greg's - Emmett's colleague's - legs, and turned his head to the side, unfortunately for him, in the direction of Greg's crotch.

It took Jasper a couple of seconds to realise why everyone was laughing at him, but as soon as he did, he too burst into hysterical laughter, not bothering to even attempt to move.

Garrett, who had just arrived earlier this afternoon, seized the opportunity. He reached into his pocket to pull out his phone and after fiddling with some of the buttons, held the phone up in front of him, his eyes intent on the screen. The whole process took less than a minute, before his phone was returned to the security of his jeans pocket.

"And now, we have the means for blackmail." he announced smugly. I guess he must have taken a picture of this moment to taunt Jasper with for the foreseeable future.

Feeling a little sorry for my big brother, I pulled him up from his position of humiliation, although it wasn't particularly easy given his indifference and the fact that I wasn't exactly sober either and almost fell backward several times.

When he was once again upright, I patted him hard on the back, "Bit drunk, I think." I confirmed.

His eyes darted around at everyone else, sipping their drinks or still amused by Jasper's lacking stability. A sloppy smile reached his lips, as he straightened his index finger and bought it to his mouth, tapping it vigorously, "Shhh!" he placed his hands on my shoulders, "Don't tell Alice, she'll go mental."

I couldn't help but laugh at his request and I heard Emmett send a mocking "Whipped." in his direction.

"Yeah, don't get your knickers in a twist!" claimed Joe, "None of us will tell her." he shrugged before knocking back the rest of his drink.

"However, if you don't shut up about it now, I can't promise I wont _show _her." Garrett threatened, patting his pocket where his phone rested.

That shut him up and instead of moaning some more, he went straight back to the bar to order his next drink. I couldn't blame him to be honest. Okay, so Alice was probably very aware that Jasper was getting drunk. She probably didn't give a shit that he was, _she_ was getting drunk right this minute, even. What Alice probably would mind however was just how drunk her husband was getting.

He had never been this far from sober before and she would probably give him an ear full for being embarrassing or something. Jasper wasn't a particularly big drinker either. Obviously, we merely found it funny, no need to prevent a good laugh. There was no telling her that though.

"Jasper!" Greg shouted to him, "Get us a round will ya? I got something I wanna say, best done with a good pint, I reckon."

Jasper nodded and a couple of minutes later was handing pints round to everyone until we were all in possession of a glass. Greg cleared his throat and looked to Emmett. "Just wanted to say, while I'm still standin', congrats mate and good luck, I know I said this before but I wanted to do it in public, just one more time before the big day. We're here to make your last weekend as a free man a night," he paused, smiling, "you might have forgotten by morning."

Several glasses were raised and heads nodding to that comment as he continued, "So also, just for tonight, women shall temporarily cease to exist." he grinned widely at Emmett, who returned the gesture, "Excellent. Now, to Emmett… let's drink!" and we did. A lot.

I was violently awoken the next morning to the sound of my phone vibrating beside my head, I assumed this was what it would feel like to have a drink pounding into your skull.

Without raising my head or opening my eyes, I reached my arm around to where the painful vibrations were being emitted from. With a grunt, I held the phone to my ear having, after several attempts, successfully hit the call button.

Before I could muster up a greeting an unrecognisable voice was speaking "Voicemail has one new message." I groaned again and went through the procedure as best as I could to retrieve the message, "Message left at five, forty eight am:" the voice said before a very, very familiar one took its place, though a lot louder than normal, I had to hold the phone further away from my ear than before, "Edward, it's Bellaaa," she laughed, "Alice took my shoe! So now Rosie and Angela are laughing at me. It's not fair 'cause I keep falling over and there was this man behind the bar earlier and he wouldn't serve me anymore 'cause I was too drunk. I'm not drunk though, but I'm really annoyed 'cause Alice has my shoe."

I normally, probably would have found her whining amusing, but my head hurt too much to find anything that funny and instead listened to her ramblings, which were then replaced by Alice's stern voice further in the background, "Bella, what the hell? Give me the phoooone. You're not allowed to talk to Edward, and don't tell on me, I has rights you know." there's a pause and a lot of rustling and I scrunch my eyes closed, willing them to hurry up and stop, before Alice talks yet again, her voice much closer to the phone this time, "I'm hanging up now, BYE EDWARD!" she yells before the message cuts off.

Still without raising my head, I sling the phone off in some direction and rub my temples soothingly. Not that it worked. I'll have to remind myself to play that message to Bella soon to make myself feel better.

I flip myself over gently and slowly lift my eyelids open, luckily it is still relatively dark in here - wherever here is - and the strength of the light does not make me want to crawl into a hole and die. Although my vision is a little fuzzy around the edges.

The only thing that I cant tell for sure is that I'm lying on a sofa, not just because my neck is propped up and an uncomfortable angle on something ridiculously uncomfortable. Mainly though, it's because my face is angled towards the backrest of it.

I rub my eyes several times before folding my arms across my chest, not having aided my sight. My right hand aches when I curl it into a fist, but I'm not in a state to inspect it, so I loosen its position so it is spread out and relaxed instead, which eases the discomfort.

I hear another groan somewhere in the room. Remembering to be careful, I turn my head in the direction of the noise, seeing Joe prop himself up on his forearms on the floor near the door.

He looks around himself dazed before he winces and rests his head in his hands, rubbing his palms up and down his face.

"Joe?" I whisper, my voice not willing to go any louder than that.

It takes him longer than usual to react to my voice. When he does, he slowly lifts his head and turns it to the side. His eyes seem lazy and are not fully open, but as he takes in my relaxed state, he slumps his head forwards to rest on his hand which is now propped up on his thigh.

"How you feeling?" he asks, his voice hoarse and rough.

I drag my hand down my face, "Not great. You?"

He sighs "My heads banging, my voice is fucked, my arms ache and I need to piss, but I can't get up." he pauses and takes a brief look around himself before returning his gaze to me, "I also have no idea where we are and can't remember most of the night quite frankly." he adds.

"Guess we'll have to wait and see who knows what's going on." I paused, "Can't remember much either really, so we must have had a bloody good time." I comment.

Joe makes a small, but genuine smile but does not verbalise a response. He allows his eyes to drift close but makes no move to make himself more comfortable, so I assumed it was his head that was the issue, not tiredness.

I divert my attention from him to examine the location of everyone else. Emmett is lying on the floor, his head up by Joe's feet, lying parallel to him. Greg is resting - quite surprisingly - his head on Emmett's stomach with his feet pressed up against the sofa I was lying on. After a little more searching, I located Garrett on a recliner chair tucked away in the corner, completely sprawled out, one shoe on his foot, the other fallen to the floor. Jasper however, was no where in sight. If I was in a better state, I might have made more of an effort to look for him, but he was probably behind the sofa or somewhere equally as stupid and uncomfortable.

One by one, the group of us began to regain consciousness. Garrett was the first, who simply seemed more tired than anything else and didn't seem to be suffering as such from a hangover as Joe and I were. He did feel it necessary to take a photo on his phone of Emmett and Greg though, which I felt was much appreciated.

"I've got a few photos from last night actually." Garrett commented, "I'm thinking we're gunna need a show of these."

I yawned widely and nodded in agreement, "Maybe when we're all recovered enough to appreciated them though, yeah?"

He nodded, though seemed slightly disappointed by the fact that he would be unable to mock us all quite yet. Probably not today at this rate either.

It was a little while longer before Emmett and Greg woke up, but when they did, they awoke with a start at the position they found themselves in and shifted away from each other awkwardly.

Joe, still at this point in his hunched up position, scanned the room briefly before asking, "Where's Jasper?"

Greg ran his hand through his already dishevelled hair, "Last thing I knew he was in the bathroom."

Garrett laughed, "Someone can't handle their drink." he shook his head, grinning. "Don't worry, lots of material to use against him at a later date."

"Wonder how the girls got on." Emmett mused aloud.

I sat myself up, with a lot of effort so I could focus on him more easily. I made a pathetic attempt to point in the general direction of my phone before I said "I got a voicemail this morning." I yawned once again, "Turns out they were still out and about coming up to six this morning." I informed him.

He looked impressed, nodding his head. "Wonder what they got up to." he trailed off suggestively.

"Ugh," Joe groaned, "I can barely remember what _we_ did last night, and I was there." he massaged his temples, muttering incoherently under his breath.

"Wanna see what we did last night?" Garrett asked smirking at us, tapping his pocket.

Greg nodded, "Sure, can't be that bad."

"Wait, we need to get Jasper to see these. I don't remember much past a certain point, but I know before that he was out of it." I said.

Joe forced himself to a standing position, looking a bit queasy. "I'll go find him. Still need a piss." he commented as he dragged himself out the room.

I flopped back down on the sofa and closed my eyes as we waited for the two of them to return. No one said anything, all feeling different degrees of shit with little energy to talk without a motive.

When the other two re-entered the room, the silence was broken. The door slammed open, causing havoc in my head. Jasper immediately slumped himself down on the floor, telling everyone to shut up despite us not having said a word. Joe took back his old position on the floor despite Jasper's presence interfering with his space.

"Wanna see something that'll make you feel better, Jasper?" Garrett asked, moving to take a seat on the floor with the rest of them.

"No. Fuck off." He complained

"Aww come on. You too, Edward, over here." Garrett waved me over but I shook my head.

"I'll have a look later." I replied, attempting to make myself more comfortable.

"Okay." he said, "I've got some good stuff on here though." he trailed off, implying that I was missing out on something interesting. He knew me well because that made me curious, and when I get curious I find it hard to resist enquiring. So, with a lot of force, I found myself crouched down with the rest of them surrounding Garrett who pulled out his phone.

I really hoped any photos I was in were not incriminating or embarrassing, though that was probably far too much to ask. As long as Bella never saw any of the truly awful ones, I guess that would be okay.

Garrett began scrolling through the photos, very few of which I actually remembered and most of which were embarrassing for someone: The first one of Jasper with his head in Greg's lap which I actually did remember. Several of each of us downing a pint or drinking shots. Jasper stood on the bar pulling his shirt off, followed by another where he is flinging it across the room as the people behind the bar as well as Greg and I try to pull him down. Emmett and I having an arm wrestle - which would explain my aching hand - as the rest of them cheered us both on, although I was definitely losing. Several of us wandering the streets looking lost and bloody mental mixed with some of Jasper and Joe attempting to hump trees, statues, whatever else they could find.

There were also several more inappropriate images, which involved us staring at and shoving money into the bras of strangers, so I assumed we had ended up at a strip club last night as well.

The photos ended with Emmett and Greg asleep before Garrett shut the phone smugly, not having made it into many. The ones he was in also, were relatively innocent in comparison to the rest of them. Bastard.

"Let's not be showing these to anyone else, okay? Especially not Rose." Emmett suggested, and I was all for the idea.

Garrett looked thoughtful for a moment, "I don't know, I'm thinking Alice should possibly know about Jasper's curious fetishes."

"Fuck off." Jasper complained. "I hate you, so much."

Garrett gasped in mock horror and placed his hand over his heart, "Jasper, your hurtful words have wounded me deeply," he said obviously insincerely "however, as you seem to be hurting with this public revelation, I'll forgive you. But don't make a habit of it now will you?"

Jasper swiped his hand pathetically in the direction of Garrett, but he missed tragically and just slumped himself back down.

"Don't worry Jazz," Emmett said from behind him, making his voice purposefully louder to punish us, considering the majority - myself included - winced at the boom of his voice "There was that beautiful picture of Eddie gawping at that stripper, we can always show Bella."

Slowly, I stood up and walked back over to the sofa. I picked up one of the cushions and threw it at his head, mercifully managing just to hit him smack in the face. "Piss off." I said, not wanting Bella to catch a glimpse of that despite it not meaning anything. "and _don't _call me Eddie!"


	23. Chapter 23 Oi!

Chapter 23 - Oi!

**BPOV**

"Now, _please_" I stressed strongly the please as I reached down to place my shoe on my foot, "be sensible. I know you'll be responsible, but I just want to make sure you'll be alright on your own for the night." I finished as I placed the second shoe on my other foot. My feet were going to suffer tonight, I thought.

Abby rolled her eyes as she crossed her arms, "Couple things: a) I'm sixteen, not six; b) You've left me alone overnight before, it's fine; and c) I'm not even going to be on my own, Katie, Vicky and Leah are coming over. So I'll be fine."

I sighed, "Fine, fine, as long as you're sure?" I asked just one last time.

She nodded impatiently and hurried me out the door, "Now please go out and have fun, but don't be embarrassing okay? See you tomorrow." she said before closing the door behind me.

When I arrived at Rosalie's it seemed that everyone had already started to get into it. Alice answered the door holding an opened bottle of wine. She grinned happily and pulled the door open wider allowing me to step inside; Rosalie must have been preoccupied.

"Here." Alice said, ignoring formalities and shoving her hand forward, placing a wine glass in front of me which was, I might add, very full.

I took the glass from her happily and took a small sip, testing the fruity taste on my tongue before swallowing, satisfied. She followed me into the front room where everyone was already sat. there weren't a great many of us attending tonight, due to Rosalie's insistence as Emmett was going for a similar idea. I had a feeling it would be better that way as well.

I looked around the room to see who was joining us as Alice offered top ups. Rosalie was sat in the middle of the floor - everything had been moved out the way - surrounded by a small group of people, most of whom I recognised. Rose's cousin Laura was sat facing me, looking gorgeous as usual - there was something about the Hale's that made them all stupidly attractive - the spitting image of Rosalie almost, only with brown hair and eyes. Beside her was Deb from work, her normally straight hair curled into ringlets. The other girl sat with them I hadn't seen before, her long brown hair and long body unrecognisable to me.

I took a seat beside Alice, "How come you all started with out me?" I asked teasingly as they smiled, taking long sips of wine.

"Should be on time." Rosalie retorted with a massive grin as she reached over and put her arm around me. "Better start catching up." she hinted, staring at my glass and, taking the hint, I took a long gulp, squinting my eyes as I did so. Wine wasn't best done in large doses at once as far as I was concerned and it always went straight to my head.

Rose at least looked satisfied and turned away to find a remote control, pressing a button which triggered the music. People started swaying to the beat as Rosalie turned up the volume and I took the opportunity to introduce myself to the stranger in the room.

I caught her elbow lightly, "Hey, I don't think we've been introduced, I'm Bella."

She smiled back at me. "I thought you must be, Rosalie's mentioned you before, wondered who you were. Nice to meet you, I'm Angela."

I raised my glass in greeting and she did the same before we bought it to our lips once more.

Between the six of us, we managed to finish four bottles of wine before having gone anywhere. Although no one was really out of it yet, we were all relaxed and starting to let loose a little. Deb, who I had never seen outside of work was completely different to how I would have expected her to be with a few drinks in her. She was a bit of a lightweight and the most gone of all of us as we set off in search of our first club of the night.

When we arrived, we grabbed a table off to the side so that we weren't concealed, but we weren't in the middle of things either. Alice produced from her bag a small tiara which she placed on top of Rosalie's head and we all giggled at the absurdity of it.

Once a few pictures were snapped, Rosalie headed to the bar, and came back with a tray full of various shots and placed them on the table. She took her seat and dished us out all a shot each, giving me the vodka one from the smell of it.

"Right." Rosalie shouted over the music, "I'm thinking a quick game, followed by dancing, followed by whatever the fuck we feel like, what do we reckon?"

"Yes!" Deb shouted laughing, "What we playing?"

"Right, who's up for 'I have never'?" Alice offered, "That one where we go round the circle saying 'I have never… done something' and anyone who has takes a shot?"

There were nods of approval around the circle, "Dunno if that's a good game to be playing with family about though." Laura said with a hint of a smile in her voice, to demonstrate that she wasn't actually bothered.

Rosalie pushed her jokingly "Shut up, you. Just 'cause you're gunna lose." she paused and looked around the circle, "Me first then, I have never been caught having sex."

She looked around the table. Laura and Alice both took a shot and quickly grabbed another from a tray. No look of embarrassment on either of their faces, clearly having already had enough to drink that it wasn't an issue any more, although I knew normally that Alice at least would have blushed bright red if she had admitted that.

A chorus of "Ooohs" came from our table and Laura shrugged, "Shut up." she grinned and took her turn, next in line, "Okay, to keep in light of the occasion, I have never been married."

Alice, Angela and myself all took a drink and reached for another as by the rules of the game. I wondered if there was a way to make it so Alice would have to take a shot every time. It wasn't looking as though this game was going to last too long anyway, may as well make the most of it.

Alice rarely got drunk and so she was an obvious victim of this game. That is if you knew her well enough as I did.

Angela tapped my shoulder, "I hope you don't mind me asking," she slurred slightly, "but I didn't realise you were married, how come you don't wear a ring?"

I smiled at her drunken confusion, "It's okay. I'm divorced." I shrugged.

"Oh I'm sorry. I shouldn't have asked." she looked greatly apologetic, so I grinned widely at her.

"Doesn't matter, been divorced for a while now, and we're fine." I shrugged once again, "How long have you been married?" I asked curiously.

She smiled softly, "Oh not very long, just under a year." she looked down at her hand - probably at the ring on her finger - proudly.

"What's his name?" I asked.

"Ben." She told me, looking at me again. "He's a doctor at the hospital."

"Oh really?" I asked surprised, reminded of Edward, "So is my boyfriend."

"Maybe they know each other." She offered, probably knowing however that it was a long shot. "What's his name?" I told her and her eyes widened, seemingly in recognition, "Oh my God, I know him! He and Ben work together, what a coincidence, isn't that amazing?" she asked excitedly.

I grinned widely, also amazed by the coincidence and we both burst out laughing.

"Guys." Rosalie spoke, "That's amazing, but can we play?" She asked with authority but also with a hint of a whine in her voice.

We gave in, bowing her heads. Waiting for Alice to take her turn.

"I have never had sex outside."

The game continued in the same way until all the shots had been drunk, and although there were quite a few of them, it didn't take us long to finish them. A few things were revealed, mainly about the state of our ex lives and found out far more that I probably would have liked, but we laughed it off, teased each other and moved on.

We all eventually made it onto the dance floor, me holding a Sex on the Beach in my hand, gulping it greedily. We all danced together in our group, jumping about mostly, although I had caught Deb and Laura grinding each other, no doubt attempting to attract some male attention. It was pretty effective.

It was when 'I Gotta Feeling' by Black Eyed Peas came on that I could tell we were all just a bit drunk. Rosalie took me by the hand and dragged me over to the bar as everyone else followed. Unsteadily, and following Rosalie's lead, we all clambered onto the bar, so we were in a line across it.

A majority of the people around surrounded the bar as we danced and sang along to the upbeat sound of the song. I mainly just jumped around with my hands flung in the air, flinging my hair around my face without a care. I didn't know what everyone else was doing, but I knew everyone on the floor was getting into it too, singing along with us.

I leaned forward and looked down the bar. The rest of the girls were doing much the same as I was. All apart from Deb anyway, who was being pulled by the hand down from the bar by - I had to admit - was very attractive.

Engulfed as I was in the whole thing, I watched intently as they stared at each other, his arms wrapping around her waist. I felt like I was watching one of those really cheesy romantic films where you get so engrossed that you desperately want the two main characters to hurry up and get together. Only in this instant, I was just drunkenly standing on a bar, wanting my colleague to snog some random man in a club so that I can - hopefully - remember and bring it up at work on Monday.

As soon as they're lips met an excited scream erupted. Rosalie and Alice, who were stood beside me, looked at me curiously and I nodded in Deb's direction. Momentarily, their attention turned to her and her mystery man, before they both turned inwardly towards me and reacted much the same as I did.

Alice passed the message on down the bar and before long the five of us were chanting her name, accompanied by several 'woos' of praise for her.

We climbed down from the bar, me almost tripping over my own feet, and headed over to where Deb stood.

Rose put her arm around Deb's shoulder and addressed her mystery man, "Oi, who do you think you are?"

He moved backwards away from Deb slightly, though I noticed he kept hold of her hands, as he looked at Rose "Depends who's asking?"

She raised an eyebrow before answering loudly, "I'm Rosie, Bitch. Who are you?"

He smiled, amused "I'm James. Much less exciting than 'Bitch' though, clearly."

"Oooh, I love the name James!" Deb exclaimed, clearly finding out his name at the same time as us.

Some odd looks were given to Deb, but nothing was said and we were all stood in a slightly awkward silence. I looked at James, he was more attractive up close, he had a strong jaw - and strong looking body as well - with a slight hint of stubble and light brown hair with blue eyes.

"You know, I didn't catch your name?" He looked at Deb and she smiled slightly, blushing as she told him. He smiled back at her, "Nice to meet you."

"You." Alice said sharply, pointing her finger in James' face, "Were just sucking our friend's face."

James shrugged and looked at Deb again, "Don't s'pose you'd mind if we carried on do you?"

Rose relented slightly, but before she completely let go of Deb she made sure she got the last word in, "Fine. Don't leave with him though we're going somewhere else soon." she turned her attention to James, "Better bring her back, Bitch." and she turned back to the bar leaving them to it.

A little while later, Rose seemed to be ready to move on to the next place. I noticed her stretching up looking through the crowd, most likely searching for Deb. She was the only one who had managed to drift from the group, despite a good number of men coming in search of Laura's attention.

I could sense Rosalie was starting to get pissed - most likely with that James guy for stealing Deb away - and decided to take some action. I marched - though not gracefully - back to the bar and tapped the shoulder of one of the more muscular men there, who turned to face me curiously.

"I need to get on here." I said before banging my hand down on the top of the bar.

After some pleading, I managed to get the guy to pull me onto the bar. I had to look across the room a couple of times before I spotted Deb and James off in the corner. I sighed and pulled myself down, pointing out the spot to Rose before she stormed off in search of the couple. I don't know how long we waited, but eventually Rose was able to detach them from each other getting James' number for Deb and pulling her away.

The second place we went to was much the same. Starting with a tequila shot followed by who-knows-what-else. The more I had to drink, the more whiny and irate I could feel myself becoming, making myself want to drink more; this was a stage I always went through.

"Sequila Sunrise, please." I asked the barman, holding onto the bar for support.

"How many you had?" he asked rudely.

I lowered my brow at him, "I dunno." I shrugged, "I just want another one."

He shook his head, "I don't think so."

I pressed the palms of my hands onto the top of the bar, not understanding why he wouldn't give me another drink. Surely that was his job.

"Look, Mr. Barman, I'm thirsty. Give me a drink." I shouted at him, pissed that he wasn't serving me like he was supposed to.

"I think I'm gunna have to ask you to leave, Miss. You've had one too many."

Try as I may have to fight back, it was no use. When he threatened to call security I figured it was about time to back down and get us all out of there. The girls weren't exactly happy about it, but considering it was either leave or let me go on my own at four in the morning, the previous was more favourable.

"We should go back to Rosie's and have more booze!" Laura suggested excitedly and began walking off down the road on her own. Some delayed reaction - possibly from the alcohol, who knows - caused us to momentarily forget that it was probably not a good thing and the lot of us had to run up the road after her.

"Oi!" Rose shouted, as she reached Laura, stumbling as she went, "Wait. We can't _walk_ home now."

"Yeah." I said in agreement, jutting my lower lip out, "My feet hurt."

Angela giggled at my expense, joined eventually by everyone else, while I merely pouted at them, trying to get some sympathy.

"Shoulda worn better shoes, Bitch." Rose said, throwing her arm around my shoulders and looking around us, "Oh! Let's sit over there." she suggested, pointing in the direction of a small patch of grass.

We all sat down, positioning ourselves in a rough circle around our bags. Laura lit up a cigarette and offered some to the rest of us, who all declined. She shrugged and began inhaling the fumes, which although smelt disgusting, I couldn't help but be a little curious as to what it was like. I'd never smoked a cigarette before.

I reached my hand across the circle, "Can I have a drag?" I asked innocently.

She shrugged and passed the partially used stick across to me. I eyed it curiously, as I heard Alice chastise me harshly, but ignored her words, my curiosity getting the better of me. I closed my eyes as I bought it to my lips and breathed in deeply before coughing aggressively against the smoke. I quickly passed it back, not at all understanding the appeal in anything that feels that bad.

"Oh my God," Alice exclaimed in a squeal, "the grass is wet. Can we please go?" she asked pleadingly.

"But my feet hurt." I insisted, not really wanting to move.

Alice moved to kneel by my feet, a determined look on her face. She pulled my shoes off my feet, hooking them onto her index finger with a smug grin on her face, "There we go, let's go."

Everyone stood up, following her determination. I dragged behind slightly but tried to keep my pace steady without much success, tripping over stones and my misplaced feet, which just made them ache even more.

":Aliiiiice." I complained, "Please can I have my shoe back?"

She shook her head at me, "Were not that far away from Rosie's, so shut up your whining." she said followed by laughs from Angela and Rosalie.

I folded my arms stubbornly across my chest, pouting sadly at them. It wasn't fair, my feet hurt and she wouldn't give them back. I wanted my drink as well but the man wouldn't give it to me.

Edward would have let me have a drink and given me back my shoes.

I pulled my phone out of my pocket, and found Edward's number on my phone. It was a good thing I was slightly behind everyone else; there wasn't supposed to be any contact with our partners tonight. But at least he was reasonable.

I put the phone to my ear and listened to the repetitive sound of the dialling tone. I heard Edward's voice down the phone and went to explain how Alice was being unfair, when I realised it wasn't him but a recorded version of his voice telling me to leave a message. I huffed, irritated, but figured I'd leave him a message anyway, waiting for the beep.

"Edward, its Bellaaa." I stopped, laughing at the way my name sounded that way, "Alice took my shoe! So now Rosie and Angela are laughing at me. It's not fair 'cause I keep falling over and there was this man behind the bar earlier and he wouldn't serve me anymore 'cause I was too drunk. I'm not drunk though, but I'm really annoyed 'cause Alice has my shoe." I told him, impressed that I'd managed to get it all out without interruption.

I couldn't revel in it for too long though it turned out, because Alice must have overheard me talking. She turned around impatiently and stalked towards me, "Bella, what the hell? Give me the phooone!" she reached for the phone but I pulled my arm behind my back so she couldn't reach, "You're not allowed to talk to Edward, and don't tell on me, I has rights you know."

I tried to move away from her but she kept coming toward me, reaching behind my back and eventually getting hold of my hand. I tried to pull it from her grasp but she wasn't giving up and I had to give in and let her get her take it from me.

"I'm hanging up." she told me matter-of-factly before shouting down the phone, "BYE EDWARD!" and switching my phone off, throwing it into her bag.

She threaded her arm through mine. "Sorry, but you broke the rules." she patted my arm, "Besides, you can't tell on me, s'not fair." she smiled widely, but I couldn't return it, wishing she hadn't stolen my shoes and my phone.

"What if I get you lots of tequila when we get back to Rosie's and then give you back your shoes and phone?"

I considered this for a moment. The effects of the alcohol were slowly but surely starting to wear off.

I nodded, an offer I couldn't refuse.


End file.
